Blood of My Blood
by kimah36
Summary: Set several months after Somewhat Damaged. Jasmine is pregnant, and Kujhade couldn't be happier. When she gives birth, his biggest fears come true. Their love for each other is tested when his culture demands he do the unspeakable. What happens when bloodties and love aren't enough? On top of that the steady stream of assassins won't stop until all of them are dead. Yautja/Human
1. Prologue

**PROLOGUE:**

Hey guys! I'm back with the second part to my first story Somewhat Damaged. I wanted to take a break, but I also needed to tell this story. I need to tell Kujhade and Jasmine's story. I will of course have a little action, because you can't tell a story about a bunch of predators without somebody's spine getting ripped out, or some other means of bloodshed. However this story will go a bit more in depth about Kujhade's line of thinking, and how being in the relationship he's in and how being a father challenges all that he knows. I won't bore you by telling you the story before I tell the story, so I'm gonna wrap this up.

If you are clicking this story and you haven't read the previous one, you should back out of this right now :) You might not understand the references, or why certain events are important. Also, I just like my readers to have the entire experience of the story. Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this story, and I hope you enjoy it!

P.S. Somewhat Damaged has reached over 12k total views! Your enormous support and encouragement has been humbling and overwhelming to me. I just hope this story does the last one justice.


	2. Early Birds

The past six months hadn't been too bad. Jasmine was adjusting to life as a very pregnant woman, with a lot of help from Lijia who was vigilant in making sure she was okay. As usual, days and nights were indistinguishable, and Jasmine found herself unable to rely on her own biological clock anymore. She was always sleepy and hungry.

Kujhade had informed her that they were headed to another clan, one that was headed by Bakuub's sister. Both he and Mar'cte felt that was the best place to go. Unlike most yautja siblings, Bakuub and his sister were quite close, and she would believe that Setg'in had done some treachery to achieve his position. Her name was R'ka, Kujhade had said, and she was the only one he trusted in such a dangerous situation. They weren't outlaws or bad bloods yet, as Kujhade's position as arbitrator protected them all from such a low status. However, it would only be a matter of time before whatever lies Setg'in had trumped up preceded them.

Often they stopped on planets to hunt, both for food and for pleasure. Jasmine had been awed each time, even if they landed on a planet that wasn't particularly beautiful. She always found the ones with multiple moons the most intriguing. Sometimes, Kujhade encouraged her curiosity and exploration knowing that she was new to space travel and visiting other planets. He always kept a watchful eye on her. At other times, he forbade her from even leaving the ship at all. She knew that those were very dangerous places to visit, and she did not contradict him at those times.

He had continued to train her despite her pregnancy. Jasmine had become a bit tougher since becoming pregnant. She was more resilient, and could tolerate more physical pain than before. She noticed that she had not been sick even once since leaving the clan ship. Only on one occasion she injured herself, and being overly concerned Kujhade insisted he give her more of his blood to keep any further injury or infection at bay. The cosmetic changes were minimal but noticeable to her. One thing that surprised her, was the fact that she no longer grew pubic hair. In fact, she did not grow any hair except what was on her head, and any other hair promptly fell out never to return. Her breasts were bigger as expected, but she noticed her areola and nipple were beginning to be less tender and the skin looked almost like that of a yautja. Lijia suspected that it was in preparation for nursing. She warned Jasmine that yautja pups demanded a lot of feeding, and the mothers often allowed them to suckle until they lost their milk teeth and grew their permanent tusks.

Jasmine liked her new life despite its challenges, but she still missed Earth. She missed television, and putting on makeup. She missed shopping, going to the club, and human food. Most of all she missed Marcus. More and more she thought of her little brother, wondering what ever became of him. She hoped that he had been able to move on despite her disappearance. She hoped he hadn't worried too much, or thought she had purposely abandoned him. One day, Jasmine had been searching aimlessly through her iPod, and found a picture of him. Since then, she would wake up and look at it, imprinting it in her memory each time. Unable to hide his jealousy that Jasmine was apparently looking at another male, Kujhade had angrily asked who he was. When Jasmine explained that it was her brother, he immediately recanted and let her alone about it.

* * *

Jasmine cracked one eye open, then the other. All seemed quiet, but then she heard growls and moans, clicks and rushed speech, and the telltale sound of skin slapping skin, from a distance. Jasmine rolled her eyes and sat up on her elbows. At six months pregnant, she could barely see over the hump of her once flat stomach. She looked over to see Kujhade sitting straight up, head cocked towards the source of the sound. His mandibles were splayed open, and his eyes half lidded. Jasmine swatted his arm.

"You're such a pervert Kujhade. Does Mar'cte ever get tired? Damn, it's like he's running a one-man porn channel over there," Jasmine complained as she plopped back down.

The babies were starting to kick and move again. She rubbed her belly as she tried to drift back off to sleep. She couldn't believe it when Lijia checked her just a few weeks after they had been forced to leave the clanship. Jasmine was pregnant with twins. Little twin boys to be exact. She was about to go to sleep until she felt Kujhade's hand on her arm.

"What is porn?" He tried to whisper as he leaned in towards her. Jasmine rolled her eyes again and smiled.

"Take a wild guess," she said, rolling over at his insistence. Once she was on her back, he slowly pulled the covers away from her, exposing her swelling breasts and cupping one.

"I know it has something to do with mating. You oomans are obsessed with mating," he said, chuckling as he nuzzled her neck and trailed a hand underneath the covers.

"No, Mar'cte is obsessed with mating," she teased. Kujhade placed a large hot hand right between her legs, gently forcing her to open them. His familiar rumble started in his chest.

"Then what are you obsessed with?" He asked, knowing the answer to that. Jasmine giggled as she kissed him.

"I think I might be obsessed with you 'Jhade," she moaned into him, as they made quiet, passionate love to each other.

* * *

What Jasmine assumed to be morning had come, and Jasmine awoke to the smell of cooking food. Lijia. She was incredibly domesticated for a yautja female. She often took it upon herself to prepare the food, or tend to Jasmine where it concerned her pregnancy. At first, Lijia would sometimes still flirt with Kujhade, much to Jasmine's amusement. Little by little Lijia began to pay extra attention to Mar'cte. It was the sex. They did it more or less daily, even though neither of them were in season. Jasmine guessed they were taking a page out of the human book of how to have sex anytime.

Jasmine arose from the bedding, and cleaned herself up before trekking over to Mar'cte's half of the ship for food. They both trilled when they saw her come in.

"My nephews seem strong and healthy already sister. You must be taking good care of them," Mar'cte said as he slid her a platter of food.

"I'm trying to. They're so active. They're just like you guys, they never ever sleep. They just keep kicking me and moving around," Jasmine said, easing herself down with one hand on her moving belly.

"That just means they will be strong hunters, feared across the galaxies," Mar'cte boasted.

"You speak so highly of them one would almost believe you were the sire, brother," Kujhade teased, striding in and taking a seat to eat as though he owned the place. Mar'cte simply shook his head, grinning and making his own food.

Jasmine and Lijia scooted over to allow him to sit down. Kujhade prepared his own platter, and gave a rub to Jasmine's belly. For the entire pregnancy, he would gaze at her stomach or rub it.

"Do you think we will run into anymore of Setg'in's assassins before we reach R'ka brother?" Mar'cte asked as he sat to eat.

"Of course we will, but we can handle whatever he does," Kujhade replied, taking a big bite of food.

"I don't understand Mar'cte," Lijia began. "If he let you go under the pretense of making up a story about you, why try to kill you? Wouldn't it be easier to simply sit back and let others do that for him?" She asked. The males nodded.

"You have a point, but perhaps his lies are not as believable as he thought. We are still witnesses to what really happened, regardless of what he says," Kujhade answered, as he took a big bite of meat. He took a look at Jasmine who usually is just as involved in the conversation, but was being very quiet. She had a very concentrated look on her face.

"What is wrong Jasmine?" Kujhade asked, instantly concerned. After a moment, she exhaled loudly and smiled.

"I'm okay baby," Jasmine reassured him. Lijia gave her a curious look but didn't say anything, as they all continued to discuss their current situation.

"Maybe the killers we've been running into aren't from Setg'in in the first place," Jasmine said, restarting the conversation.

"Do you believe he has already spread whatever lies he's made up?" Lijia asked Jasmine.

"Maybe, I dunno. If he did, would that make others come after us?" She asked all of them at once. They all kind of shrugged.

"Something tells me that isn't true. He is sending them. He means to kill us. A lie will spread better if we are not around to defend ourselves against it," Kujhade said. Solemnly they agreed with that line of logic. Jasmine tried not to think about birthing children at a time like this. They finished eating in relative silence.

* * *

It had been going on all day since breakfast. At first Jasmine thought it was just a false alarm or just a little pregnant pain, but as the day and night went on she knew what it was. She was in labor. She had been tossing and turning all night, trying to find a comfortable position and failing miserably. Jasmine got up for the fourth or fifth time having to pee. On the last trip to the bathroom, she decided not to try to lay back down. Instead she paced the floor as quietly as she could. The contractions were light so far, and were only coming in about an hour apart. At least that was how far she thought they were, it felt right.

Jasmine took a seat in the pilot's chair. It swiveled, and she aimlessly made it go from one side to the other as she looked out into space. The reality of what was actually happening hit her. She was about to birth her first children, and they would not be human, at least not entirely. She calmed herself, and swiveled in the chair. It was the most comfortable thing so far.

Another hour passed as a heavier contraction pulled her from the edges of sleep. Sucking in a breath through her teeth, Jasmine sat straight up and closed her eyes, counting in her head until the pain subsided to something dull. She rose from her seat and went to her old room to retrieve her iPod. Jasmine played something soothing, and began to hum along as she rubbed her belly. She had to pee again so headed to the bathroom. When she was done, she had barely gotten out of the bathroom before she felt warm liquid run down her legs. Surprised, and thinking that she had urinated on herself, she ran to sit back down on the oversized toilet. She was puzzled until it dawned on her.

"My water broke," she whispered to herself, becoming nervous. She wondered if she should go and get Lijia, but then another contraction rolled over her no less than thirty or forty minutes after the last one. This was picking up rather quickly.

Slowly she crept put of the bathroom, and went out to pace the floor again. Kujhade was still soundly asleep which was a little abnormal for him. He was usually easier than a cat to awaken at the smallest disturbance. She grabbed a container of water from their supplies and drank it down eagerly. Suddenly she had become very thirsty, and it didn't seem as though any amount of water could satisfy her.

Jasmine continued the trek from the bathroom to the control/bedroom/living room they shared, and back again for the next few hours. She only paused to stand still and bear through the contractions when they hit her. By the time she thought to go into the bathing area one last time, the contractions were about ten or fifteen minutes apart, and they hurt like hell. She always thought she would scream and holler like in the movies, but she was concentrating too hard to scream out. It took every ounce of her strength just to endure the pain, let alone expend the energy to give unnecessary voice to it. The only sound was the sharp intake of air as the contraction started, and the moans of pain as she swayed back and forth on her feet until it ended.

In the bathing area her first instinct was to squat in the shallow end of the large pool sized tub. She slept in the nude, so there were no clothes to remove. She was sweating bullets, and the sauna like temperature of the bathing area wasn't helping it, but somehow it felt right. It felt as if she should be there. Another contraction, and she could tell this one was going to be a doozy. Jasmine readied herself by placing both hands on the edge of the tub and clenched her teeth, shutting her eyes tightly. It hurt so bad. She had never felt such pain before in her life, and that was saying a lot. Towards the end of this particularly painful contraction, she felt the urge to push as hard as she could. Jasmine placed one hand at her entrance, hoping it would be something like a catcher's mitt. Panting hard and sweating, Jasmine grunted as she pushed as hard as she could. She finally screamed out a little with the tremendous effort, but still no baby yet.

In their shared bed Kujhade sat up straight. It was coming from the bathing area. Jasmine. He rushed up with uncanny speed, and was there in front of her before she had finished her first push.

"Jasmine?" He questioned as he lowered himself into the water with her. Jasmine sagged against his chest, already worn out.

"The babies," she panted out, sweeping her hair from her face and trying to wipe some of the sweat from her eyes. "I'm having the babies 'Jhade."

It was too early from what Lijia had told them. None of them knew how long Jasmine would really remain pregnant. Yautja females carried their babies no less than twelve months, but Jasmine had informed them that human's did it in nine months or sometimes a little less. It had been one of the big questions, but no one had anticipated the birth this early.

"Do you wish me to go and get Lijia?" Kujhade asked, not knowing what to do. He wanted to be there with Jasmine, but he had to protect her as well.

"Okay," Jasmine managed, as she began to breath quickly through her nose. Another contraction was approaching fast. They were starting to come in one after the other, without much respite in between.

Kujhade wasn't even out of the bathing area good before he spotted Lijia already on her way. Mar'cte was behind her and trying to keep a respectable distance, but Kujhade gave him a warning growl anyway. He had been trying to keep his territorial behavior at bay, knowing logically that Mar'cte did not pose a threat. It couldn't be helped, and Mar'cte understood it to some degree. They did not normally live with the pup's mothers when they were pregnant, but knew that a male that did became irrational at times, and highly irritated at even the distant presence of another male. At those times they would land on a nearby planet, and Mar'cte would remain gone for many days at a time until Kujhade could get himself together.

Lijia rushed in, immediately taking up a place in the water and trying to get Jasmine to recline, but she refused.

"It's….better like this," Jasmine said, looking wearied already. Lijia let it be. Yautja females did whatever came naturally to them during childbirth, but she had never expected Jasmine to do the same. Lijia had studied human birthing processes and thought they had to lay down to birth their young, but she was beginning to understand that it was only a practice, not a necessity.

Lijia watched with great interest as Jasmine bore her pain in relative silence. Jasmine began to rock back and forth rhythmically on her haunches, her right hand poised to catch the baby. She hummed to herself as she did so.

"Come oooonn, mommy's babiiieeees," Jasmine cooed to her as yet unborn children.

Lijia thought it a beautiful thing to do, and she had rarely heard Jasmine make such a sound. She instantly liked it. Sometimes yautja mother's purred as they gave birth, and it astounded Lijia how similar an experience it was. It was serene, the sound of the water ebbing and flowing around them and the soft amber backlighting on the walls. Lijia understood why Jasmine may have been drawn here to give birth. She rocked with Jasmine and offered a light purr of her own to calm the new mother.

Jasmine stilled as another labor pain washed over her. She pushed with all her might, straining and moaning in pain. She stopped pushing long enough to breath quickly, like they do in Lamaze class. She grunted again as she began to push, and finally she felt something land softly into the palm of her hand. It was the baby's head. She eased herself out of the water to lie on the hard metal floor. Lijia saw the small baby and gently pulled it the rest of the way.

Lijia couldn't believe it. None of them knew how these sucklings were going to look, but this was not entirely expected. They looked nothing like a human at all. Everything about the little one in her arms was yautja. From the small crested head, to the dark and tan speckled coloring, to the small mandibles, this suckling was yautja through and through. Most importantly, he was not an albino. Lijia quickly lay him down on the floor away from the edge of the tub.

Sweating profusely, Jasmine rolled over and slid back into the tub. There wasn't much of a break before another pain, and she could feel the second baby drop into position. She pushed, but he wasn't quite ready yet.

"Come on baby…..mommy wants….to…see you," Jasmine said between pants, as she squatted in the shallow water again. She rocked back and forth, and then felt another urge to push.

"Ahhhhgggghh!" She cried out as she tried not to double completely over with the pain and effort of her pushing. She took a deep breath and pushed again, just following her instincts at this point. On the last push she felt a little relief, as the second baby crowned.

Lijia lifted her out of the water and positioned Jasmine on her back, her energy all but spent. The second pup had crowned fully, and as she had done with the first, Lijia gently pulled the baby free. Jasmine let out a loud, weary sigh of relief and pushed the placenta out. Lijia busied herself cutting the sucklings from their umbilical cords, and cleaning them. Jasmine laid down, breathing heavily with the effort, and trying to focus to see her children. Lijia had taken both of them across the room and was wrapping them in warm pelts. They were quiet. It dawned on Jasmine that it was too quiet in there for her to have birthed twins. Instantly she began to worry. Was something wrong with them? Were they stillborn? Jasmine raised on her elbows, struggling to get to her hands and knees.

"Lijia, what's wrong?" She asked, trying not to think the worst.

Lijia turned to face her with one bundle cradled in each arm. She had a concerned look on her face that Jasmine didn't like at all.

"Lijia!" Jasmine yelled with her remaining strength and starting to crawl towards them.

"Jasmine, the babies are alive…" Lijia replied, but there was still a hesitancy about her voice. A concern.

Jasmine was not satisfied until she spied a little arm make its way out of the swaddling. Then suddenly the silence was broken by a high pitched keening sound, not too different from the small sounds a newborn kitten might make. It was strange not to hear the familiar wail of a newborn human, but Jasmine responded just the same. The overwhelming need to see to them, comfort them, take care of them welled up inside her fiercely.

Hurriedly, Lijia knelt down to hand Jasmine her sucklings. She handed her the firstborn. Reverently, Jasmine took the small bundle from Lijia's arms. Like a wonderful gift, Jasmine unwrapped the baby's face and was both shocked, and not shocked at what she saw. It was a little bitty yautja. He had her hazel eyes which were huge in its small face. He had a crested head, and small stubby dreads all around. He was very alert, and began to study her just as much as she was studying him. His small mouth was surrounded by four little mandibles, tipped in small translucent tusks, that were soft when Jasmine touched them. His small black speckled hands had small claws that were a perfect replica of an adult yautja hand, only the claws were as soft and malleable as his tusks. The rest of his little body looked just like his father's race. He was speckled in black with a bright tan line running vertically down his entire front. Jasmine touched every single part of him, marveling that he was even there and that he was hers.

His little arms reached out erratically, his mandibles flaring awkwardly as it was obvious he didn't yet know how to work them. He kicked a little with his little chubby legs. Jasmine placed a soothing hand on his little pot belly, and he began to coo and gurgle. It sounded surprisingly human even though there were the beginnings of a purr underlining the sound. Jasmine though it was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard. She didn't want to let him go, but she needed to see her second child.

With a look of concern, that was almost apologetic, Lijia handed her the second born. Jasmine peeled back the pelt, and received the shock of her life. This one was a perfect replica of his father. Every spot, every speckle, even the deep leaf green eyes were exactly like his dad's. She was holding a tiny Kujhade in her arms, and she had no idea how the big Kujhade would react. Her second born was an albino male, just like his father.


	3. Parental Consent

Jasmine began to wake up. Groggily she raised herself on her elbows, finding herself covered in a thin pelt atop the metal cot in the ship's small medical bay. When she saw Lijia standing next to the twins she smiled as much as she could. She was tired and sore, but all she kept thinking about were the babies, and how excited she was to see them again. Then she heard the most beautiful sound; they were cooing and trying to purr.

"Are they hungry? I think I should feed them. I wasn't out too long was I?" Jasmine said, talking excitedly. Lijia handed her only the first born of the twins, but allowed the second to remain where he was. Jasmine noted this, but decided she would only try to feed one at a time for now.

She gathered him in her arms and marveled at him again, getting lost in his big hazel eyes. His little arms and legs flailed awkwardly as he began to make that kitten, keening sound. She realized this was their version of crying. She raised him up to her breast, hoping like hell he knew what to do, because she didn't know how to make him latch on. His little mouth found the source of his food, as his tiny mandibles latched around her breast. She thought his mouth full of needle-like teeth would hurt more, but she barely felt them. It was the actual sucking of the milk that was more uncomfortable. Jasmine winced, but finally relaxed a little as he began to drink. She looked back over to find Lijia gone. It was just as well. Jasmine was getting tired of that goofy look she was giving her second baby.

She was no fool. The baby was an albino and that was as good as a death sentence according to what Kujhade had told her. Kujhade's own survival was unique and unprecedented, and shouldn't have happened. He was not supposed to survive his ordeal, but that would not be the fate of their child. No. Their child would not need to fear such a fate. She eased herself off of the metal cot and walked the couple of steps to where her other baby was laying. He was alert, looking at her with those wonderful green eyes so like his father. His little arms and legs were wiggling about, and that keening noise was starting in his little throat. He was strange, and he was wondrous. They both were, and best of all they belonged to her.

Looking at them, she thought about her own mother. In the end, she had dreaded her mother and they had come to loathe and hate one another. Before all of that, Angela had been attentive and supportive of Jasmine. Jasmine had felt loved and cherished by her mother. She was wise in a lot of ways, and Jasmine vowed to be that kind of mother. Only she wouldn't suddenly turn on her children. She would never leave them to suffer at the hands of some monster, who would hurt or kill them. Instead she would protect them from all harm until they could protect themselves, and she would do it with her life if it ever came to that.

Jasmine felt a surge of love that threatened to overwhelm her. She reached down to pick him up. They were heavy for preemies, and they were healthy from what Lijia was able to surmise. The one she was feeding was drifting off to sleep, but was still sucking vigorously. She hoisted her second child up, but he seemed content to watch her rather than try to feed.

"What am I going to name you little bit?" She cooed to him. He tried to make a sound, but his eyes drooped instead.

He looked so cute trying to stay awake. All his mandibles stretched open in a big yawn, and then startled him when they closed back suddenly. His little startled breath came in hitches as he started to cry, that high pitched but not altogether unpleasant kitten noise. In true baby fashion he began to search out his only comfort, milk. Sitting back down on her cot, Jasmine was able to maneuver the second baby so he could latch onto the other breast. The first had gone into a full sleep, unlatching and drooling milk from his inner mouth. She wondered if he needed burping like a human baby. It was already proving a task to handle both at the same time. At the risk of her second born crying and waking the first, she put him down then quickly lay the first on his stomach atop a warm pelt. Jasmine covered him then picked up the second to feed him. He latched on quickly, eating just as vigorously as his brother. She reclined back, feeding one son and patting the back of the other until he let out a long loud burp, then nestled back into a calm sleep. She rocked and hummed to them until all three of them fell asleep.

* * *

Kujhade tended needlessly to his trophies. They were only a few weeks or perhaps a month out from the nearest viable hunting planet. They would land there and hunt as well as replenish some of their supplies. They would eventually need to visit a trading ship to buy what they could not hunt, and gather information also. Kujhade needed to know what news had been spread about the events on the clan ship. He also wanted to test his rank as arbitrator. If he was right about it, his rank should be recognized and answers should come fairly easily. He finished polishing a few skulls and turned to leave the trophy room. He wanted to see Jasmine, and he also wanted to see his pups.

"Kujhade, your mate is settled. You should come see your pups now," Lijia said from the doorway of his trophy room. Kujhade's head snapped up. He had been waiting for the all clear.

"She is ready? Are they healthy? Are they strong pups?" Kujhade asked in a rush, and was making his way to Jasmine. Lijia hadn't had time to even answer, but he would see for himself soon enough.

He stood at the doorway of the medical bay and peered in. Jasmine was feeding one suckling and petting the other, all of them sleeping peacefully. He took in the sight. His life-mate whom he loved as much as he loved the hunt, had birthed his pups. His pups. No female of his kind would have done it for fear of the chance to birth one with his own affliction.

Kujhade walked all the way in, standing over them. He reached out a large clawed hand and stroked her head. She was breathing steadily. She was stronger than he imagined. He had seen some of what she had gone through to birth them, and it was admirable, honorable. Jasmine stirred under his touch, opening her eyes and giving him a tired smile.

"Hey 'Jhade. I'm so tired," she said and he could hear the exhaustion.

"How are you feeling aside from that my mate?" Kujhade asked, trying to focus on her before rushing to see and handle his pups. They were all swaddled and he couldn't really see them.

"I'm okay. Bleeding like a stuck hog, but other than that I'm more than okay," Jazzy said, leaning into his palm and kissing it lightly.

"I wish to see them," he said. He waited on her to offer them up before he took the liberty. He had sired them, but she was the bearer and he needed to respect this fact. He wouldn't have been able to get this close to one of his own females. Jasmine smiled and handed him the one she was feeding. He had gone to sleep, and had stopped eating.

Slowly Kujhade reached to hold him. He unwrapped him and his mandibles fell slack at the sight. Inside the swaddling pelt, was a tiny replica of himself. The mottling of green over the pale cream color dominating his little body. His face took on that unreadable quality that Jasmine had become familiar with. She decided this was the look a he made when he could not express deep, impactful emotions. She tried to imagine what was going through his mind, and could only barely scratch the surface.

"I know you're worried about him because he looks like you, but it's okay Kujhade. He's got a mother and father who love him, and his life will be different," she tried to reassure him, as she stroked his forearm. He creased his brow, but never lifted his eyes from the baby in his arms.

"His life will not be different Jasmine. It will be more difficult than even my experience because he is not only albino, he is a human hybrid. He will not be accepted…" Kujhade was saying, but was cut off when Jasmine gave him a death glare.

"What are you saying to me Kujhade? You better not be saying what the fuck I think you're saying?" Jazzy tried to whisper scream, so as not to wake the babies.

"Jasmine, he cannot survive in our world," Kujhade tried to keep his voice calm, but he had little patience. A yautja female would not need this kind of encouragement to know what needed to happen.

"You did it! And he will fucking survive it! I'm only gonna say this shit one time Kujhade so you hear me, and you hear me well. I don't give two shits about yautja custom, culture, or none of that bullshit Kujhade. These are our children. Our children. Don't forget that," Jasmine said with tears standing in her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued.

"You gave me this life. I didn't want it at first, but now I would kill anyone who tried to take it away. You asked me for children, and we have them now. We have a family Kujhade. Please don't let all the other shit from outside come in between what we're building together. Neither of us can afford to let our shitty pasts ruin it for these babies. They need us to do what our parents couldn't," Jasmine said, as a fat tear slid down her cheek. She needed him to understand. Jasmine was sure she couldn't take the emotional drain on top of the physical one she was still feeling.

It was dangerous ground to speak about getting rid of a suckling to a female who had just given birth. Had he been speaking to a yautja female he would have been in mortal danger. Then again this subject wouldn't even be an issue he would have needed to be concerned with. He took the chance to speak to her in this manner precisely because she wasn't of his kind. He searched her eyes for any hint of a lack of resolve and found none. Jasmine was serious.

"Promise me you'll do the right thing," Jasmine pleaded, sitting up straight to see and hear his answer.

"I will do the right thing Jasmine," he said and it wasn't a lie, at least not in his mind. He would do what needed to be done, and she would have to understand it.

Jasmine relaxed, relieved to have made him understand her. He wanted to say more, but there was no point trying to argue any further. Instead he turned his attention to the pup laying at her side, gently handing her the albino. He reached around to pick up his first born. Jasmine was watching him like a hawk. Kujhade held him by the scruff of his neck, but the baby didn't wake up. He brought the newborn close to his face, and began to purr and click at him very quietly. Even in his sleep the baby reacted to it. He began to try to mimic what he was apparently hearing in his sleep. His little mandibles worked awkwardly as he tried to click them.

Only life mated males imprinted upon their sucklings as Kujhade was doing now. The baby's eyes fluttered open as he looked directly into his sire's face. Kujhade simply studied him closely, clicking and purring in a way Jasmine had never heard him do before. After a long while of staring at each other, Kujhade finally brought the newborn close to his chest, cradling him until the baby went drifting back into a heavy, peaceful looking sleep. They looked beautiful together. A smile crept up on Kujhade's face as he continued to purr quietly. He eventually lay the baby back down next to Jasmine.

Innocently, she handed the other baby to him. Kujhade paused for a brief second, but did not take the pup from her arms. He turned to leave, but her words gave him another pause.

"Please don't do that to him. Don't ignore him, he's your baby too," Jasmine pleaded, on the verge of tears.

Kujhade's heart twisted at the sound of her crying. She was human, and often felt things too deeply, her emotions running out of control. Jasmine would understand. She had accepted and withstood everything that had been thrown her way since being with him, and he had no doubt that she could withstand this as well. She would simply have to.


	4. Trials of The Past 1

Lijia toweled herself dry, as she strolled out of the bathing area. Mar'cte was sitting at the ship's controls, checking their flight path and doing other maintenance when he heard her sit in the co-pilot seat next to him. He turned and let off a light trill at the sight of her naked body. She was made like the males of her kind, muscular and sculpted. Only she had large high breasts, a smallish waist, and a nice curvy bottom. Purple mottling covered her sides and jaw, a lovely feature. Lijia waved off his interest. She wasn't in the mood for mating.

"You seem deep in thought mate, what's wrong?" Mar'cte asked, ready for a good conversation.

"You haven't seen the pups yet have you?" She asked, turning to him. He simply shook his head, looking back at his controls.

"One of them is albino," Lijia said casually, and faced forward. Mar'cte's head snapped up, his mandibles spread wide in disbelief.

"What was Kujhade's reaction? What is Jasmine going to do?" He asked a little too loudly. Lijia shushed him. He hunched his head down like a scolded pup.

"I don't know what Jasmine will do. For that matter I didn't stick around for Kujhade's reaction either. Jasmine seems not to be bothered by it, which makes sense considering her life mate," Lijia said, tapping her tusks together in deep thought.

"She isn't from our culture, she's an alien, she doesn't know any better," Mar'cte mused.

"You know him the best of all of us, what do you think he will do?" Lijia asked, turning towards Mar'cte again. He sat back in the seat and thought for a moment, his thorny brow knitted.

"It is difficult to say. On the one hand, he was very adamant that he did not want any pups of his going through what he went through. He's been despised the whole time, pretty much cut off from any aspect of our culture besides hunting. On the other hand, he cherishes Jasmine very much, and may bend to her will if she decides against killing the pup," Mar'cte said, all of a sudden feeling the weight of all of it.

"Jasmine being an ooman complicates things. They do not like to abandon their young, even if that is what is best. I have studied this due to this very possibility. Ooman mothers who kill or harm their young are some of the worst bad bloods according to their culture," she said thoughtfully. Mar'cte's eyes went wide.

"A bad blood?" Mar'cte asked her quietly. His brow knitted further. Could they ask that of her? Could they demand she become a bad blood in her own right, when they all strived so hard to avoid that very title? Suddenly, Mar'cte didn't want to think about it anymore. He shook his head as if to shake the thoughts out.

They both sat in contemplative silence, as the beauty of the stars rolled over and around them.

* * *

On Kujhade's side of the ship, the arbitrator couldn't sleep. Jasmine was in the pit, sleeping near its edge. Even in her sleep, she kept her hands on at least one of the twins. He watched her and his pups. Despite the albino, he couldn't help but feel a swell of pride, but it was dampened by the thought of his suckling. He too sat in deep thought at the controls of the ship. He sat back in the pilot's seat, not doing anything in particular except think.

His bearer had waited too late. She dragged him through the underbrush in a hurried pace, as if she couldn't wait to be rid of him. All he remembered was being smacked in the face by branches and sharp leaves. They were going deeper and deeper into the dense, hot forest. Kujhade thought they would get lost. In fact he was already lost, but his bearer's steps were sure.

They had begun this little trek at the first light of dawn. She had roused him from a deep sleep, a traveling pack already prepared. She said little to him, but Kujhade was accustomed to it. It wasn't that his bearer didn't like to speak. He knew because she spoke often and happily to his older brother. It was just Kujhade that she never spoke to much. Always she gave him a look, as if he were the biggest source of shame and dishonor for her. They resided in a small home which had a large backyard of sorts. Kujhade was allowed to play there, but she never took him beyond the confines of their home. Often he would sneak out of the semi-secluded yard, and try to catch a look. The yard itself was bordered by the home on one side, and a dense thicket on the other two so that only one side of it was free. It was there that a young Kujhade would go when he wanted to see the outside world.

Not far from the yard, was a training ground where a small yautja pup could squeeze in through the tall grass and peer over the high wall without being seen. Inside the walls were many strong, big males training. It was magical. They were all fierce warriors in Kujhade's mind, and he wanted to be just like them. The snarls, the growls, the scent of fighting musk, and the clang of weapons were all a symphony to his little ears. One day he would be a great warrior as well. He would many times mock the fighting movements and stances he saw, creating wrist blades of his own out of sharp twigs and small branches, and then tying them to his arm with the many vines that wound themselves around the tall trees. Kujhade would imagine hunting in some distant place he had never heard of, or battling some worthy foe. He would jump and kick, his movements off but enthusiastic nonetheless. It was in the midst of one of these fantasies that his bearer had caught him.

She had grabbed him by his tendrils, a painful thing to do to one so young, and pulled him all the way back to the house. She beat him. He howled in pain, and in growing fury, but it was to no avail. Droplets of green blood followed him to his thin padding on the floor, and he drifted off into a sleep until he was awakened in the morning. Now he was being carted off, deeper and deeper into the woods. Kujhade tried to ask what was going on. In his excitement to be leaving their home for the first time he could remember, he had forgotten she was angry with him. He received a smack on the large crest of his head as the only reply, and he had remained quiet. That was hours ago. They had started before the sun was truly up, and now it burned bright and high in the sky. The canopy of treetops blocked direct light, but the heat had accumulated anyway. His little legs pumped in an effort to keep up with her long strides until he began to falter. It was then that she had roughly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along behind her.

Eventually they must have reached their destination because they stopped. He was breathing hard, and his arm hurt where she had grabbed, but Kujhade's leafy green eyes stared up in wonder. They had come to a clearing, a sort of glade and it was beautiful. Dapples of sunlight shone through the thick canopy of treetops overhead. They were like little tunnels of light, just enough to make it seem like a different world altogether in the mind of a pup. He opened his little mandibles, breathing in the dank forest smells. All around he could hear the presence of small animals and insects. He was glad that much of the sunlight had been filtered through the trees, because his eyes and skin were sensitive to it. His bearer had called it a weakness, and maybe it was but at that moment he didn't care. He was consumed by all the brand new sights and sounds of the forest.

His bearer handed him the pack, and silently pointed out each item within. He was only four cycles old, but Kujhade was very astute and it never took him long to pick up on anything. She had packed some dried meats, a canteen of water, a small hunting knife, and a small visor for his eyes. After she was sure he had understood the items, she repacked them and stood to leave. At first Kujhade thought it might have been some sort of game. He would play along, but his bearer had never played any game with him before so this was strange behavior. He watched as she strode off in the direction they had just come. Kujhade was tired but he began to trail after her anyway. When she heard his footsteps she growled a warning. He knew that growl. It meant to keep away from her, it meant she was angry with him.

"I'm sorry bearer, I will not sneak away again," he tried but she never stopped growling over her shoulder at him.

Carefully he took another few steps in her direction. This time she whirled around and roared loudly at him. She was more than nine feet of sinew and muscle, and it was intimidating to face her down when she was like this. Kujhade did the only thing he could. He cowered down before her in submission. Kujhade got down on his hands and knees, sharp twigs digging into them, and lowered his head all the way to the forest floor.

"Get up weakling!" She demanded, and quickly Kujhade did as he was told. She seemed only halfway mollified at the instant obedience.

"I should have done this cycles ago, but your sire begged me not to. Now you are old enough to know why this is happening," she said standing to her full height and looking down upon him like an angry deity just before it doles out everlasting punishment.

"Do you know that you are different?" She asked, her voice calmer than a moment ago.

Kujhade thought about that question. Was he different? He didn't know. He tried to think about it, but the answer eluded him. Fearing that she would be angry at his delayed answer, he told her what he thought she wanted to hear.

"Sei-i" he answered, not at all sure about it. She sighed, seeing that he didn't actually understand it.

"Pup, what is the difference between you and I?" She tried. She had to do this, but it would be dishonorable to banish him without first telling him the exact reason.

"You are big and I am small," he said, proud of his answer. He was sure that was true.

"What else?" She asked, folding her arms across her ample breasts and waiting on him to figure it out.

"I am male, you are female," he answered again. These were easy things.

"What else?" She asked again. He knitted a smooth brow in concentration. He tried to think. There was only one other answer that he could be sure about.

"I am weak and you are strong," he said, knowing that it was true but not at all liking to say it out loud.

"What has made you weak?" She queried him again. He was proud to have maybe gotten it correct, but now all the excitement drained from his mind. This was not a fun little excursion; this was a punishment of some kind. He perked up a bit. She hadn't hit him so maybe it was just a test. Maybe if he proved intelligent he would not be weak anymore.

"I….I..I don't…" he said, hunching his little shoulders in exasperation.

His bearer said nothing. He thought some more. Then it formed in his mind. It was hazy and shapeless, but it was coming to him. His bearer, his older brother, the males training in the big yard. He looked different than all of them. He was sensitive to light in his eyes and sometimes his skin. Kujhade's shoulders sagged in resignation. This was no test. It was as he assumed before; a punishment. He was being punished for being weak, for being different.

"I look different," he said, his voice small and defeated.

"You are different. Your color is wrong, you cannot hunt. Your skin and eyes are too sensitive to light, and you are a small male. Nothing like your sire. So here you will remain until the black hunter takes you. Paya has not seen fit to be kind to you, and neither have I," she said. She hesitated a moment, given pause by the stern look in her pup's eyes. He had set his little jaw in that way he did when he refused to whine or show any emotion.

Without saying anything further, his bearer strode off. He watched her disappear into the forest. He stood there a long time, holding his pack in his hand and staring at the space where she had been. He tried to keep it in, but he was making the noise before he knew it was happening. A low, mournful sound akin to a howl that resonated in his little chest. Kujhade made his way to where his bearer had been a few moments before. He searched for her, but she was gone. He kept looking back to keep the clearing in his line of sight. It was his only point of reference, and he didn't want to lose his way from it. Trying to stifle the sound he was making, with very little success, he sulked his way back to the clearing. He took a seat with his back against a tall tree. He looked at the pack in his hands. His stomach growled at him, and he suddenly remembered that he hadn't eaten since the day before. He reached in and took a very small piece of the dried meats she had given him.

"Jhade?" Jasmine's voice brought him steadily out of his memory.

"Jhade, you okay baby?" Jazzy said quietly, making her way to him. He felt her small warm hand on his shoulder.

"I am fine Jasmine," he replied as softly as he could.

Jasmine only stood just behind him with a hand on his scaly shoulder. He said he was okay, but he hadn't sounded like it a minute ago. She didn't think he realized he was making a strange noise; one she had not heard before. It was little more than a deep rumble, barely audible. She was sleeping lightly now that she had the twins. They were waking every two hours to feed, so it didn't take much to wake her now. He seemed to be lost in a memory that didn't seem all that pleasurable. She understood that all too well. She wanted to ask, but decided not to pry. He had been opening up more and more with her, but there were some things he still held close to the vest. Jasmine leaned down to kiss the crest of his head and his lower jaw. She caressed his shoulder once more and turned towards the pit again.

Kujhade grabbed her hand suddenly, and gently pulled her around to embrace her. Jasmine straddled him and nuzzled into his warmth. Once she had her arms securely around him, he dropped his but sat gazing out at the shooting stars and distant worlds. Sensing his need for affection, Jasmine held on tighter to him, the beat of his mighty heart lulling her into peaceful sleep. It would only be the cries of their children that would eventually wake her and pull her from his arms.


	5. Smooth Landing

Turok and Setg'in hadn't become friends, but they had formed an uneasy alliance. Not long after having made each other's acquaintance at the gates of the trading post, Set'gin had secretly called upon Turok. It was simple. Setg'in paid Turok to get rid of whomever Setg'in couldn't be seen getting rid of, and Turok kept his mouth shut about whatever he heard or saw. His latest target was a big white yautja and a pregnant human. Easy.

Turok sat in his ship which was parked on the outskirts of the trading post. It was an old out of date Yautja ship. Turok boasted of having killed the owner and helping himself to the belongings. Yautja were feared, at times hated, and always respected for the hunters they were. Killing a yautja as part of your repertoire made you an instant badass in the intergalactic criminal underworld. Turok was a grunt, muscle, and he was happy to break heads at any time. Being a large, four-armed alien that kind of resembled a crocodile in the face helped that cause. He was among the last of his race; the Gharial. Not content to stay on a planet doomed to be destroyed because its sun was dying, he'd made his way across the galaxies. His strength and size, general bad attitude, and willingness to fight was his only means of survival. Now after having to scrounge for every scrap, he was being paid handsomely by Setg'in, who was obviously in some position of power.

He'd been waiting all week for some work to come his way, and finally it had. A transmission from Setg'in, or Guan as he liked to be called, came through his ship's console. The 3D image was barely visible but it was good enough. A picture of the targets, and instead of just two there were four. The fourth was a female yautja. Turok's long rough tongue slid from one side of his long snout to the other.

"Never had one of those. Should be fun trying to fuck one instead of kill one. She might fetch me a pretty price after I'm done with her," he mused to himself, thoughts of how that would play out dancing in his mind.

Along with the given targets, a partial payment had also been made and that was just what Turok had been waiting on. Understanding just what he needed to do, and also where his targets were likely to be, he cut the transmission, having to bang on the console a couple of times to make sure.

"Gonna have to get me another one of these soon. Tired of this piece of space slag," he muttered again, lifting his massive bulk from the pilot seat.

Heavy footfalls resounded on the metal floor as Turok stalked over to the sleeping chambers.

"Get up and get the fuck out bitch," he said casually to the female who had just been jarred awake by his booming voice. Her cat-like face screwed up, but she slinked her way off of the bedding anyway.

"You coming back soon Turok?" She questioned, rolling the 'r' in his name, and sliding a furry clawed hand over his broad chest.

"Don't make me throw you out on your ass. Out!" Turok growled, jerking one of his thumbs towards the ship's door.

She pouted, green cat eyes gleaming as she bent to pick up her clothes; pants, a tight top, and twin guns with leather holsters. She nabbed a cloak and made her way out of the ship, only casting one look back at Turok. He nodded a wordless good-bye as the doors slid shut. He went to the covers and looked them over in disgust.

"You're a Gharial's dream in the bed, but all this damn fur!" He growled as he threw the covers in the incinerator.

After he finished straightening the sleeping chambers to be more to his liking, he grabbed a bite to eat, and went back to the console. He punched in a few coordinates and a 3D image of a rather beautiful planet hovered over the controls. Turok recognized it. It was a rather pretty planet, but filled with dangerous animals. He wasn't surprised that a yautja might go there for hunting. With a lurch, the engines of the ship grumbled to life. It was old but it was still reliable. He wondered what kind of ship his targets had. It was definitely time for an upgrade, and after he killed this little crew he could get one.

* * *

 _(One week later)_

Jasmine had been a busy little pregnant bee. She had taken the time to cut out small pieces of pelts from animals they had hunted. All three yautja had questioned the purpose for them, and no matter how many times she explained the concept of diapers, they didn't seem to quite get it. When they saw her fold it underneath each baby, then fasten them on the sides by tying them they kind of got it.

"They don't need that sister, it's a waste of time. The sucklings should be allowed to make waste without restriction," Mar'cte said matter-of-factly, as he watched her put diapers on the boys.

"I'm not restricting them from going potty, I'm just restricting them from going potty on me. You can let them poop on you, I'm not dealing with it. They're wearing diapers, and that's final," Jasmine said as she finished tying the diaper on her firstborn. When she was done she stood up and admired her handiwork.

"Who's mommy's babies? You're mommies babies!" She cooed as she rubbed their little bellies. They're arms pinwheeled, and legs kicked wildly as they excitedly tried to laugh. Their mandibles already raising into a yautja's smile.

Mar'cte and Lijia watched as Jasmine created a sling with a thin but stretchable pelt. She wrapped the baby within, then after he was secure she tied it to her back with him in an upright position. She then did the same with the other baby, only she secured him in the front. She positioned him for breastfeeding, and then rose out of their pit bed.

"So when are you guys going to help me name them? It's been a little more than a week and I don't know a lot of yautja names. All I got are Earth names. I was thinking that no matter what, my first is going to be named after my brother Marcus, and the second will be named after my dad, Mili. Well really his name was Emilio, but everybody called him Mili," she said as she went about making the pit, and preparing a meal.

"It can be honorable to name a suckling after your sire, or respected elder. Usually we do not name them until they are older. Once their personality is shown, we name them based on their character," Kujhade offered as he emerged from his trophy room. He had been spending more and more time in there as they approached the planet they intended to hunt on.

Jasmine turned towards him, beaming. He was beautiful to her. Long dreads swaying with each step, green eyes focused upon her, taut muscles under thick skin rippling despite the fact that he wasn't doing anything more strenuous than walking the short distance towards her. She wasn't bleeding as much anymore and her strength was returning to her faster than she would have thought possible. The sight of him awakened her sexual appetite even if it was just a little bit, and she must have been giving off some kind of scent because he purred right as she was thinking about his loincloth. He was dressed in full armor excluding his mask which was slung on his hip. A string of small skulls hung around him like a necklace. Two human skulls were peeking over his left shoulder, sitting on their own spikes. He looked dangerous, scary, sexy. Kujhade wrapped a strong arm around her back and drew her to him, their baby between them. Jasmine reached up and grabbed his face between her hands, and kissed him. His only response was to open his mandibles and mouth and allow it.

Mar'cte and Lijia watched with great interest, having hardly ever witnessed any physical affection between the two. Jasmine got into it, not even recalling that anyone else was there. She did something she rarely did, as she slipped her tongue in his mouth. He tried to reciprocate by presenting his own tongue. He wished she would do this more as he was really turned on by such a simple thing. Kujhade was well aware of the audience, and in his excitement gave off his mating musk. He also decided to show off a bit. Kujhade reached into her hair grabbing a handful, and twined it around his hand. It made her wince just a little, a wonderful sound, but she melted into him anyway. He pulled until her head angled up, as he bent down a little further. Kissing was basically impossible for him to do, but that didn't stop him from making the motion. Becoming more aggressive, he shoved his tongue into her mouth and closed his mandibles around the lower half of her face. She moaned into the kiss. After that he was satisfied, and gently broke the kiss. Jasmine's brown face was flush and hot, and she giggled nervously when she remembered they'd had a small captive audience. Kujhade stood up proud and cast a smug glance at the other two yautja.

"I was wondering when you two were going to stop. I thought the pup should be smothered between you," Mar'cte teased. Kujhade grumbled a bit, but made his way to the controls.

"At least I don't keep everyone awake with loud mating and roaring like two young bloods," Kujhade teased back as he brought up 3D images to hover above the console.

"That's how you know you're enjoying it. When you can make her pant and howl as if she's never seen a trophy bigger than yours, is when you know you've got her," Mar'cte bragged, and then hushed as Lijia gave him a look.

"Do not get beside yourself male. The panting and the howling is for your benefit, don't talk yourself out of having it," Lijia said, which effectively left Mar'cte speechless. His mouth worked to find a scathing comeback but he had nothing.

Lijia and Jasmine giggled, as he gave an annoyed growl and promptly ignored the two females. Coming to stand to the side of Kujhade's seat, Jasmine gazed out of the broad window. It offered a fantastic view of a planet that looked similar to Earth in some ways. She could see the blue of what she assumed to be water covering the majority of the surface.

"This where we're headed 'Jhade?" Jazzy asked, the wonder in her voice unmistakable. It was commonplace for him, but Kujhade loved being able to take her to places she had never been to see things she had never seen.

"Yes, my mate," he answered. They were nearing the planet, and Jasmine could have sworn she felt the gravitational pull of it.

Mar'cte got up and headed to his side of the ship's controls. They were flying in tandem, switching off who was the primary and who was the secondary ship as they careened through space. At the moment Mar'cte's ship was the primary. He was setting controls and the details and coordinates were showing up in 3D images for Kujhade. It was only an hour or so before they touched down. The ship settled gently and quietly, no more trouble than parking a car.

As soon as the ship was landed and cloaked, Kujhade placed his mask upon his face. Lijia and Mar'cte had done the same. Jasmine lifted a breather to her own face since they didn't have a full mask to fit her, but Kujhade waved it away.

"The atmosphere here is rich in oxygen. We cannot breathe it without struggle, but you would be fine. Bring the breather for the pups as they may not be able to breathe here either," he said to her as the doors slid open.

Kujhade stepped out, stretching his limbs and shaking his head so that his tendrils whipped about. Mar'cte and Lijia followed, with Mar'cte in full predator mode as well. He was adorned with skulls on his shoulders like football player shoulder pads. His mask was ornate with two bone horns sticking out from the top like a devil, his clan mark prominent in the middle. He was shorter than Kujhade but no less intimidating as he made his way into the bright sunshine.

Timidly Jasmine followed making sure her babies were secure in the slings. She had put on her old jogging pants and tank top that were still holding on to life, as well as her athletic shoes. She took little sips of breath to test it. When she realized it really was rich in oxygen, she took a deep breath. The ship was clean, but now breathing this planet's air she could tell the difference between it and the recycled air of the ship. She repositioned her boys so that they were both facing her in front. When she looked down at them she noticed they both had distressed little looks on their faces. They must not have been able to breathe. Quickly she retrieved the breathing mask. It fit over her nose and mouth, but fit almost all the way over their faces. Turning to see if she and the pups were okay, Kujhade fished out his own extra breather and tossed it to her. She placed one over Marcus' face then the other over Mili's. They both seemed to relax and try to gurgle happily.

Jasmine finally was able to pay attention to her surroundings. If she were a paleontologist, she would have recognized the climate as being something akin to the carboniferous period of Earth. It was warm, and before her lay a wide expanse of jungle. Impossibly tall trees stood just beyond the ship's door, and the deep purple and blue-green grass stood all the way to her waist. The ground beneath her feet was both solid and soft almost like a swamp although not as wet. There were also large bushes with big wide leaves spread out. The trees also sported wide leaves that climbed the trunks. The trunks themselves were so wide that two large sedans could have driven through them abreast. One of the most striking things about this new place was all the colors. The tree trunks came in reds, purples, browns, and golds. Most of the leaves on the trees and bushes were the customary green she was used to.

As she moved slowly through the tall grass she noticed that it moved ever so slightly; parting at her approach. It was creepy to say the least. Grass and plant life wasn't supposed to move, at least not in a way that could be perceived with the naked eye. She was so taken by what she was seeing, that she nearly bumped right into Kujhade's back. He was holding his arm out as if to block her progress.

"Do not go any further Jasmine. There are many dangerous animals here, and they are very large. Even the flying insects are large enough to carry you away," he warned, his head on a swivel as if to guard against that very occurrence.

She waited behind him, instinctively clutching her babies who trilled in delight and started to kick and coo. They were incredibly active and advanced for newborns. At first she saw nothing and believed him to be overreacting, but her eyes widened at what came strolling out from among the trees. It was a large scorpion like animal, and it was taking its time cautiously investigating the newcomers. It was blood red with large pincers, at least ten pairs of legs, and an extremely large stinger dripping thick clear venom. At the sight of it Jasmine backed away slowly. For all the alien life forms she'd seen so far, this one scared her the most. Perhaps because she had a point of reference for this one. Scorpions were supposed to be manageably small, not a monster like the one before her. Other animals she'd seen were so foreign that she couldn't have any expectations about them one way or another, but this thing was really nightmarish.

Its left claw was obviously the dominant as it was decidedly larger than the right one. It lowered itself flat against the ground as a double row of antennae lifted from its back. They waved slowly back and forth as if it were searching for something. As far as she could tell it had no discernable eyes. She looked around and saw Lijia who was backing into the ship as well. Mar'cte was casually leaned against the ship's hull just outside the doorway. Kujhade was gone and Jasmine could only assume he had cloaked.

Just as she was getting used to the scorpion she was staring at, a second then a third made their way out from the underbrush. One was all white, the other a mottled lime green. Ludicrously, Jasmine thought of the Italian flag. She would be killed by Italian scorpions. It was absolutely a crazy thought to have, but it sat right in the front of her mind anyway as she watched the red one shoot venom from its stinger.

"Oh hell no," Jasmine said, gawking and having run back up the ship's ramp.

For one fearful, bowel movement inducing moment, it had tried to follow her up the ramp. One of its unsettling legs had made it up a few feet before it was dragged violently backwards. It must have been Kujhade. Meanwhile at the appearance of the other two Mar'cte let out a fearsome roar and extended his spear just before running right at the green one. He didn't bother to cloak as he attacked. The scorpion quickly proved vicious as it attempted to stab Mar'cte several times, just missing him each time as its stinger repeatedly slammed into the ground. Kujhade must have realized Mar'cte was fighting without the advantage of his invisibility as he suddenly appeared amidst a crackle of blue electricity. He was in midair, and his whip was wrapped around the thing's tail just below its stinger. As he landed, Kujhade snatched the whip back and its serrated edges sliced the stinger from the animal. It landed with a dull thump on the moist ground.

Angered, the creature reared up on some of its legs, and came down hard with the tip of its pincer intending to skewer the thing attacking it. It was faltering though. It seemed without its stinger, it lost its equilibrium. It flailed wildly in Kujhade's direction, but without its earlier precision. It took one of its pincers and decided to try to slice Kujhade in half, and he almost did. It snapped his spear instead, and Kujhade was left to use his wrist blades, as the whip was no longer the best weapon at close range.

Mar'cte was making a game of it. He had not severed the thing's stinger from its body yet. Mar'cte was short and fast, and he kept coming in close almost dipping underneath the monster. It was confused. It wanted to keep stabbing downwards with its long segmented tail, but its target wouldn't stay still. Mar'cte would stand just in its line of sight, then as it went to stab he would hide underneath its large flat head. He was trying to trick it into stabbing itself. It was likely immune to its own poison but the force of the blow would kill it. To help it along, Mar'cte was doing some stabbing of his own when he went under it. On the last foray, Mar'cte had managed to dislodge both its large upper mandibles. It reeled back, screeching in pain and surprise. It whipped its body around but again Mar'cte was too fast. He jumped to the side then jumped onto its back. It turned every which way trying to get the unwelcomed rider off, but Mar'cte dug in. He lay down face up on the things back, one clawed hand finding a grip on the scorpion's ridged exoskeleton. The other hand reached for his smart disc. Casually, he tossed it at the thing's stinger and caught it as it came spinning back. The smart disc would never penetrate the hide of the creature, but it would agitate it. Losing all its patience, it finally did sacrifice itself in an effort to kill Mar'cte. It stabbed itself in the back repeatedly as Mar'cte jumped off, landing in a crouched position before it, and roaring in triumph. It writhed and flipped over on its back as it screeched in its final death throes.

Through all the commotion, the white scorpion was the stealthiest. He paid no mind to his comrades. He was more interested in the tasty morsels that had retreated back into the ship. The doors would have closed had it not been for a single enormous pincer keeping them from closing all the way. It gave one mighty tug but the door wouldn't move. Jasmine and Lijia had gone all the way back inside, but stared at the creature that was slowly making its way inside. Lijia growled menacingly under the expressionless metal mask, and hit a stance as if to fight. Lijia was no warrior, but a yautja's natural defense and fighting prowess would still be no laughing matter in the face of such a dumb animal. Not one to be a damsel in distress, Jasmine hastily made her way to Kujhade's trophy room. She lay the twins down on the floor with the sling pelt as their cover and cushion. They had become upset and fidgety, responding to all the fighting and fear happening all around them. She lay them in a corner and kissed them both before gathering her bow and arrows. The trophy room doubled as the armory, but she was not comfortable with any other weapon.

When Jasmine got to the doorway, she found Lijia already engaged with the beast. She had a dagger in her hand, and although it wasn't as efficient as the two hunters outside, her fighting had its own brand of fluidity and beauty. Lijia's fighting was more acrobatic, with a lot more flips and kicks than Jasmine had ever seen any hunter do.

"Lijia!" Jasmine yelled, then took aim at the creature herself.

Lijia turned briefly and immediately understood. She would need to give Jasmine a clear shot. After a near miss with its pincers Lijia jumped on top of it, grabbing hold of two antennae and sort of wrangling it. Finally it lifted its head just enough, trying to get Lijia from its back. With arms and eyes steady, Jasmine took a silent deep breath and loosed the arrow. It found its mark perfectly. It had no exoskeleton underneath it, and it succumbed quickly to the assault. Lijia was above it, peeling back parts of its exoskeleton. She would wedge the dagger between two plates, then saw it enough to get her claws underneath before ripping it either completely or partially. The thing scuttled backwards shrieking in pain, as Jasmine continued to release arrow after arrow into its underbelly.

The doorway opened completely as the white scorpion fell back out of the ship, with Lijia still on top of it. Before it could fall on its back and crush her, she leaped gracefully from it, landing in a crouched position and roaring at it. Jasmine ran out behind them, shooting a few more arrows for good measure. Really the thing had died. It lay on its back, legs folded in as the shrieking died out. Breathing hard and bending with her hands on her knees, Jasmine was trying to handle the immediate adrenaline crash. She spied Kujhade just as he was retracting his wrist blades from a place on his beast's back. He had also ripped its exoskeleton off, thus killing it. He was calmly kneeled over it taking a trophy of its pincers, and had laid its stinger to the side as well. Mar'cte was also taking his trophies, laying different body parts around as if to choose which he would keep.

Jasmine waited calmly watching the two hunters make quick work of it. They had both gotten out their thin but very strong cable, and were working on tying the monsters up by what was left of the tails and lifting them high into the trees. After Kujhade was done he turned towards the ship only to find Jasmine marching up to him. She wacked him two good times on the chest.

"Why didn't you come get me?! I was about to be scorpion food!" She screamed, but underneath was laughter.

Kujhade rumbled his own chuckle as he stroked her hair.

"I knew you could take care of yourself and our pups. I was not worried at all," he said confidently.

The truth was that he knew no such thing, but a hunter did not interfere in another hunter's kill. If the hunter died, it was to be regarded as an honorable death. He kept this to himself, as he had learned the hard way that Jasmine did not understand certain rules of the hunt, and was angered by them at times. Like an unblooded pup in training, sometimes it was better to placate her with praise and tell the truth of the matter later. It worked, because she smiled broadly at him and leaned into his touch.

"Now you must take a trophy from it. It is a shared kill and I think Lijia has already taken the best parts," Kujhade said, motioning towards the white scorpion.

Indeed Lijia was taking a trophy. One of the plates she'd lifted revealed the things eyes. Jasmine hated to admit it, but the eyeballs were huge and gorgeous. They gleamed in the sunlight like crystals, refracting the light into tiny rainbows. Jasmine still wasn't one for all this trophy taking, but she was building a little stash of her own. She had decided to keep U'darajhe's skull after all, and even had a few things from small kills she's made in their travels. This one was the biggest thing she'd killed, and she thought she would take something from it. Jasmine jogged over and took out her hunting knife. Immediately, she went for the tail stinger. It was long and sharp with three small sacks running along the underside. Jasmine cut below the sacks as Mar'cte and Kujhade silently nodded their approval. The sacks held the poison, and if she had cut into them she would have been killed by the fine spray release. She showed incredible instincts to have avoided it without being told.

When she finally had it, she had to carry it in both arms. She turned to see Kujhade walking towards the ship with his haul, sunlight glinting off his mask. He was dragging the pincers behind him with a bit of the cable, but it didn't seem to be heavy to him at all. Mar'cte was also hauling his trophies in, but stopped to wrap a blood soaked arm around Lijia as he purred at her.

"Did I ever tell you a female that hunts makes me want to mate?" He said to her as they walked up the ramp. Lijia shook her head at his antics.

"You're worse than a youngblood Mar'cte. A hot wind on Yaut Prime makes you want to mate," Lijia said laughing at him openly.

Once inside Jasmine made haste back to her twins. She found them oddly quiet and holding hands. When they laid eyes on her and Kujhade, they kicked excitedly and tried to purr as much as they could. Jasmine scooped them up but not before Kujhade could take one of them. To her surprise and utter delight, he had chosen the albino twin.


	6. Trials of The Past 2

The cool wind caressed him, gently nudging him awake. Kujhade reluctantly roused from his sleep. He hadn't even remembered when he had laid down. The last thing he recalled was all the running and playing he had done. Earlier he'd climbed a tree, had hunted three small bugs, eaten a little more of the dried meats, and had drank some of the water. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. Usually his sight was much better in the dark without the sunlight to interfere. Now his vision was a little blurry and would not clear. He yawned and then winced at the pain in his jaw. His little hand reached up to feel a small raised bump which was tender to the touch.

Kujhade tried to stand and was immediately dizzy. He could only get to his knees before falling face first in the leaves and sticks on the ground. Then out of nowhere he felt his stomach lurch and turn before emptying its contents on the forest floor. Weakened, Kujhade tried to stand again and couldn't make it. He settled for crawling and he started out in a random direction. His vision remained blurred. Small creatures surrounded him, but their heat signatures were all over the place. As he slowly crawled, they scampered away. His jaw throbbed. He tried to open his mandibles to smell what he could not see, but abandoned that idea quickly because of the pain.

When he'd climbed the tree earlier, he thought he remembered a small stream of water in the distance. Now he couldn't be sure. Was there really water somewhere around? Did he dream it? He wasn't sure, but he needed water desperately. His throat was becoming drier by the second. He was becoming weaker, and the pain in his jaw was starting to spread down to his neck and back. He crawled and crawled, making little progress. He didn't know where he was going, except that steadily the familiarity of the glade was fading behind him. He crawled forward as long as he could before he just collapsed. His mandibles fell slack as little chuffs of air escaped him. On every inhale, dirt got into his mouth making him cough. He closed his eyes against the growing pain and drifted off.

Morning came. The sun was glaring in his eyes and he hadn't even opened them yet. Turning his face towards the ground, Kujhade dared to open his eyes and was greeted by a wave of dizziness and nausea. His jaw hurt even more, and when he dared touch it again he could have sworn it had gotten bigger. His small body was stiff, and his exposed skin felt like it was burning. Ever so slowly he got on his hands and knees. He wanted nothing more than to lay back down, but his stomach growled ceaselessly, while at the same time threatening to empty itself again. How long had he been out? He wanted to think it was just the next day, but something told him that it wasn't. He felt around for his pack but he couldn't find it. He cracked open his eyes again to try to find his way, but something was there, watching him.

It made a loud chittering noise.

With newfound fear invigorating him, Kujhade managed to stand. The thing was as tall as he was. Although his vision was blurred still, he thought the heat signature was familiar. Bugs. Three, or was it four bugs he killed? He skewered them in tiny twigs high in the tree. It was fun then, but this might have been the mother of the bugs. It inched closer, that noise getting louder and pounding through his head. Kujhade backed away from it, but it was persistent. Eventually he backed into a tree, and although the impact was nearly non-existent it made his head and jaw throb anyway. The large thing lumbering its way to him would have been identified on Earth as an extremely large assassin bug. It looked almost identical to its Earthbound cousin. Its long proboscis rubbed under its belly, creating that horrible noise. Kujhade remembered the small bugs he'd killed making a similar sound. They had been biting him all the day before he realized what was going on. He thought he'd stepped into a group of them, and maybe he had. Maybe that's where the thing on his jaw came from, Kujhade didn't really know. He knew the thing in front of him wouldn't give him just a little bite. He knew the thing in front of him would kill him if it bit him. He'd never seen it before, but he knew it in his little heart. One predatory species could recognize another.

Stumbling as he backed away, Kujhade felt around for the hunting knife his bearer had left for him. It was strapped to his leg still. He'd taken it and put it there when he was playing,,,yesterday? The day before? A few days ago? Time was muddled in his head. He blinked his eyes trying to clear his vision, but they hurt from the intense sunlight. His skin was starting to itch really bad, and everything hurt. He wanted his bearer to come and get him, come save him, but he knew she wouldn't come. She didn't want him. She'd left him here so that this monster could eat him, but she left him a knife. He gripped the handle in his hand and pulled it from his makeshift strap. His movement must have startled the creature because it tried to stick him with its proboscis. Kujhade clumsily dodged to the side, trying to mimic the way the big warriors did in the training ground.

All the movement made him even more woozy and he fell back on his butt. He scuttled backwards as the large insect grasped at him with its two front legs. They were long and looked sharp, and Kujhade didn't want to be caught by them. The thing tried grabbing him again, and fear reasserted itself in his mind. He swung wildly at the monster before him, all while scooting out of its way and trying to fight his nausea and lightheadedness. It grabbed for him and tried to stab him with its snout again, but each time Kujhade got just out of the way. Every instinct told him that it would be death to be touched by it.

He scooted right back into a tree, and used it to get to his feet. He held the knife out in front of him awkwardly. He could barely hold it straight without his arm shaking. He was fatigued much more than he should be, and he was operating purely on adrenaline and fear. The insect came closer, readying its proboscis. It was silent as it moved, its beady eyes trained on its prey. Kujhade painfully opened his mandibles, recalling the young male warriors he admired and wished he could be. He then let out the best roar he could muster, which was impressive coming from such a little guy even if there was a hint of squeakiness underlying it. It startled the killer insect for a brief moment, and Kujhade didn't waste it. Before he lost his nerve he took wild swipes at the thing in front of him until he connected with it. It backpedaled after being struck by the knife's deadly edge. Its large body wasn't nimble enough to dodge even Kujhade's wild, untrained attacks. It tried to keep the small yautja in front of it, but Kujhade's surge of energy, and not to mention his vivid imagination, had him on the move. He managed to get on top of the thing, which was the only safe place as far as he could see. Adrenaline or no, Kujhade wouldn't be able to keep running around or away from it. He let out another squeaky roar as he awkwardly jumped on its back. It was trying to get Kujhade off, but it just simply wasn't very mobile and in truth was out of its element. It had thought to get rid of Kujhade because he'd disturbed its nest, but the reality was that this particular predatory insect hunted at night and by ambush. It was neither nighttime, nor was this an ambush. It was at a disadvantage even though Kujhade was not well. The monster bug swayed on its many feet, and Kujhade wanted to throw up from the constant jerky motion, but he had to hold on. With one small clawed hand he held on to the thing's armored back, and with the other he plunged the knife down into it. He was trying to stab it in the head, but he missed as the insect jerked its head from side to side. He tried again and again until he finally started finding his mark. One, two, three, four hits to the neck and head of the creature. It collapsed under his small weight, bleeding and shuddering in its dying moments.

Kujhade didn't stop yelling and stabbing until his arm ached, throat was raw, and his body shook from exhaustion. He couldn't break his fall as he slid in a tired heap on the ground next to the dead monster. He didn't know how long he had really been laying there, but he must have drifted off because he now found himself awakening again. It was nighttime now. The memory of what happened jolted him for a second, and he scuttled back from the carcass before he remembered it was dead. Breathing hard, he reached up and touched his still sore jaw. Now that the danger had passed, little Kujhade was curious about the dead thing. He crept close on hands and knees, his arms and hands sticky with the insects dried blood. He would really have to find that creek now. With his knife he poked it, then jumped back just in case. When he was satisfied that it wouldn't just up and get him, he crept around to the front to look at it closely. Despite his sore body, sore throat, aching muscles, and roiling stomach, a little smile crept up on his face. He had done it. It was just like his older brother. He'd gone up against the foul beast and killed it, just like the big hunters do. If only his bearer could see him, she would know he wasn't weak. His eyes and skin had been hurting from the sun earlier, but that hadn't stopped him from killing this thing.

With a child's glee, Kujhade sprang into action. He stood up on wobbly legs, and tried to drag the thing back to his spot in the forest. He didn't touch the legs, as they still seemed sharp and dangerous somehow. He got a good handhold on the thing's armored back plates, but was too weak from illness and exhaustion to really make any headway. Kujhade sank down in front of his kill, still excited but feeling the absolute need for water and food that he no longer could find. He didn't remember where his pack was, where he might have left it, how far he was from the clearing, or how many days it had been. With his back leaned on the animal, Kujhade brought his knees to his chest and tried to rest his head on them. Suddenly, he felt something drip on him. At first he didn't pay it any attention. If it was another monster it would get him this time because he simply did not have the energy to fight. When the drips came one after the other, he finally looked up. It got into his eyes a little before he realized what it was. It was raining.

Yaut Prime was not a planet known for a lot of rain, but it did have a devastating rain season. It was a monsoon in actuality. It rained one time out of a cycle, but it lasted for a week or two nonstop. It flooded the surrounding areas, and refilled the small lakes and rivers. Large inland bodies of water were few and far between, but the planet did boast one vast ocean.

Kujhade opened his mandibles as wide as the pain would allow, and turned his face up to catch some rain. It only took a moment or two before it turned from a light drizzle to an outright downpour. His thirst was awakened with a vengeance as he tried to take as much water as he could in his mouth, but it wasn't enough. Nearby, a tree with large funnel shaped leaves was pouring water like a faucet. The rain was gathering in the leaf, then pouring onto the forest floor. Kujhade hastily made his way to it and stood under it, drinking to his fill then thinking to wash himself of the insect's blood.

He immediately started to feel better now that some water had made it into his system. With a bit of renewed vigor, Kujhade ambled back over to the dead carcass and proceeded to attempt to drag it again. This time he was able to drag a little way at a time, the rain providing a slick muddy surface that actually helped rather than hindered his efforts. He was relieved to find that he hadn't gone all that far from the clearing in the forest after all, as he could make it out through the thickening curtain of rain. He was bone tired but he had to drag it all the way back. It was within his very nature to wish to display his kills, and even at this young age he could not ignore it. He did not have a length of rope at his disposal, so he would have to make smart use of the many vines that grew. At the moment, it was enough to perform one last thing before he collapsed again. With his hunting knife clenched in his hand, Kujhade began to decapitate the animal. Since the knife was so sharp, it didn't take much effort and the bones were thin. Its exoskeleton was thin on the back of its neck, and that is where Kujhade made his cuts. Soon the head was off, and the rain rinsed away the blood that came from it. Kujhade placed it neatly on the ground at the base of the large tree that he thought of as his headquarters. He smiled at it, its dead eyes staring at nothing at all. He looked at its large body and felt even more tired. It was tall enough and large enough to serve as a housing. He wanted to go into a cave, but didn't manage to find one yet. His stomach growled, and he reached a small hand to clutch at his midsection. He wished he had his pack. The insect may have to be eaten assuming he could eat it. At the moment though he was too tired, hungry, sick, and sort of getting cold from the rain. He dragged the carcass just a little closer to the base of the tree, and wedged himself between the two. It did a little to block the cold rain.

* * *

Kujhade stared into the face of his suckling. It was uncanny how much it looked like him. He was sitting in the pilot's seat as he had taken to doing almost every night while Jasmine slept. This was the second time he had held little Mili while he did so. The small baby had both its hands in its mouth, the spittle running down his arms. Kujhade was cradling him, when the small bundle reached up and slid a spitty hand across his father's jaw. He gurgled and cooed and tried his best to purr, then kicked excitedly when Kujhade's heavy purr vibrated through his little body. It was wonderful to hold even him, and it would make it all the more difficult to end his life when the time came.

"I will not allow you to suffer little one," Kujhade murmured to the small suckling, who gurgled happily in response. Kujhade gathered his pup even closer to his chest, and drifted into a fitful sleep.


	7. Inalienable Rights

"Uh oh, somebody's got a poopy diaper," Jasmine sleepily cooed to Marcus. He kicked, and then whined when he discovered there was indeed poop in the diaper.

She rose from the pit only to find that Mili wasn't lying next to his brother. A brief panic struck her, until she laid eyes on Kujhade asleep at the ship's controls with Mili laying on his chest. She stopped and almost cried at the sight. Maybe he was finally accepting his son, and would stop with all that talk about getting rid of him. Jasmine turned back toward Marcus who was starting to make a ruckus about that diaper situation. She gathered him up and took him to the bathroom to allow the bidet-type mechanism to clean him. He always liked the light spray of water, and would try to purr every time she cleaned him. His dirty diaper also got a rinse and set aside to be washed later. Jasmine quickly wrapped another diaper around her now clean baby, and walked back out towards the bed. She knew he wouldn't go back to sleep without first being fed.

Marcus latched on, eyes drooping immediately as he ate. Jasmine caressed his face still finding herself wondering at her strange little alien children.

"Uh, uh uh," a little grunting sound came from Kujhade's direction. Jasmine was walking the floor, gently bouncing Marcus to sleep when she heard it.

"Uuuh, uh uh," the sound got a little louder.

She quietly padded over to find little Mili completely awake and looking directly at her. He was still on his father's chest, eating one of his own hands and moving his legs around. Jasmine smiled. They were newborns and already this one couldn't keep still. When she got nearer to him, he nearly rolled out of Kujhade's arms. A still sleeping Kujhade caught the baby before he could throw himself to the floor. When she reached for him, she could smell why he was up.

"Must you two do the same thing at the same time?" She said, struggling to gather him in her arms while still feeding his brother. She hated to do it, but it was easier to hold him by the nape of his neck like his dad always did. The baby went slack, gurgling happily as she cleaned him in the bathroom as well.

She got back in the bed and held both as they ate, all three of them falling asleep. The next thing Jasmine knew was that Kujhade was saying something. He had managed to get them out of her arms without her waking up. She was only somewhat coherent. She loved her children but they kept a tight feeding schedule that left her little time for sleeping. Not to mention she had jumped right back into working out and training, and it always left her aching and tired. Kujhade was trying to tell her something, but she just couldn't wake up enough to pay attention.

"Jasmine, I must go tonight. I know you do not agree, but I cannot allow my pup to suffer the life I have suffered," Kujhade said, but he knew she did not really hear or understand him.

He wanted to wake her fully, but a soft voice from the doorway of his trophy room stopped him.

"It is best if you do not wake her pale hunter. She will not allow it, and it will only make things more difficult," Lijia said quietly. Kujhade wondered how long she had been standing there, or why she was there in the first place.

"How long have you been watching us?" He asked suspiciously. He knew she would not have minded mating him, but it was not the right time for this now. In any case she had Mar'cte's musk all over her, a complete turn off.

"I heard you up and about, and I came to check on you. I know what you are about to do hunter. I have had to do the same many times with my own pups," Lijia said, a note of sadness in her voice. Kujhade had gathered his albino pup in his arms, and stood to his full height.

"Since you are here, then you are tasked with calming her when she awakens. I will return after dawn, and will deal with her then," Kujhade stated solemnly before turning to gather his mask and an extra breather for the pup. He was armed to the teeth already, so Lijia knew there was no turning back at this point.

"I know that you feel you must do this, and I am hardly the one to disagree, but you will lose your life mate by this act. Have you thought of that consequence?" Lijia asked.

She'd had to walk this same path with her own pups several times before opting to remove her ability to birth sucklings. It was a decision that removed her from any real consideration of mating with viable hunters, and she moved into the medical and scientific fields as her only path to honor. She knew from experience what this would do to Kujhade. He stopped to consider her words with his back turned, poised to walk out of the ship into the night.

"I have. Jasmine has expressed her love to me, and I have done the same. She will not understand now, but I will explain it to her. Surely she would not want her child to suffer. This is the only way to prevent it. I must go. Do not allow her to follow me," he said over his shoulder. He moved to leave when she spoke again.

"Kujhade, I know what you are doing and why, but it kills you. Getting rid of them, it kills you," Lijia said very softly. When he turned to face her she was gone. He considered her words before setting out.

* * *

Kujhade had bundled up the suckling well, as the nights on this planet were very cool. He'd placed the breathing mask upon his face and held him very close to his armored chest. He walked through the tall grass, not bothered by the fact that it parted at his coming, and left a trail in his wake. He wasn't in any particular hurry, but he wanted to have this over with as quickly as possible. Mili was awake and as alert as ever, as he peered over the top of the breathing mask. He was usually prone to gurgling and kicking, but now he was very still, as if he understood that something was not quite right.

Kujhade went a good distance from the ship. He didn't want Jasmine to stumble upon such a place by accident even after the fact. He knew she would not approve and would not understand, but he hoped in time she would. Maybe it was by some crazy instinct, but he ended up in a similar place to the one he was left in. He was standing in the middle of a clearing. The bright moonlight shimmered through the thick broad leaves, bathing everything in pale blue light. Large lightning bug like insects illuminated the entire clearing. They were as large as Kujhade's hand, but completely harmless. They created an undercurrent of buzzing, endlessly flitting about eating the sap that ran from the trees.

Kujhade kneeled down in the tall grass, still cradling Mili in his arms. He looked down at his carbon copy, and felt a mix of pity, mercy, and love. Mili studied his father's face before reaching up and grazing his tiny hand across Kujhade's jaw. Tenderly, Kujhade traced a claw down the side of the breather on his suckling's face, wanting to touch it but not wanting to remove the mask. He was determined not to let him suffer, not even a single moment before the final act.

* * *

Screaming, crying, running, darkness. Footsteps, fast running footsteps. The branches of the strange trees reached out to grab her with malicious intent. The screaming. It was coming from her even though it was all around her, and everywhere the tall grass. It moved to block her path rather than let her through. She took out her knife and slashed at it. The blades of grass began to bleed in reds, golds, purples, and greens.

With a start Jasmine awoke from her muddled nightmare. She hated having them, especially the kind where nothing had actually happened but the feeling of dread never left. Already, as she sat straight up in bed the dream was fading fast, but she couldn't shake the feeling it left behind. A terrible anxiety like a knot fell to the pit of her stomach. She reached out for her boys, and grabbed up the first one she touched; Marcus. Jasmine looked around the dimly lit room. Kujhade wasn't at the ship's controls as he would usually be. Trying not to allow panic to seize her, Jasmine got up and looked for him. There weren't many places he could be on the ship.

"Jhade?" Jasmine called out, as she looked into the trophy room. When she found it empty she looked everywhere else, calling out his name with a little more urgency.

Jasmine was coming from the bathing area when she saw Lijia standing at the controls and staring out of the panoramic window. Her arms were crossed over her chest, and she seemed perturbed about something.

"Where is he Lijia? I know you know. Where are Kujhade and Mili?" Jasmine asked with a tremor in her voice. All of her fears manifested in her mind. He had spoken about getting rid of him, leaving him to die, killing him.

"My job is only to keep you here," Lijia said, turning to face Jasmine with a sorrowful look upon her face.

"Really? I wanna see you try. You'll have to kill me to keep me here Lijia. Don't make me take it to that level. Where did he go?" Jasmine asked, a dangerous tone in her voice now.

"Jasmine, he must…" Lijia began, but was surprised at how quickly Jasmine had gotten into her face.

"If you let that bullshit fly out of your mouth about how the fuck he needs to kill my baby, I will fuck, you, up." Jasmine threatened, her voice shaking with rage and fear.

Unaccustomed to threats leveled her way, Lijia flared her mandibles on instinct, but immediately regretted the action. She didn't want to fight Jasmine. Jasmine was backing up slowly. She didn't want to fight Lijia either, and was sorry for having threatened her, but she needed to find her child. Lijia's feelings were irrelevant in the face of that.

Jasmine hastily got dressed, and wrapped Marcus in a sling on her back. She got her bow and arrow, and her hunting knife and headed out into the strange moonlit night. Mar'cte ran out not a minute later behind her, and grabbed her shoulder. He spun her around. She looked up at the impassive mask that hid his face.

"Sister, please do not go. It is dangerous here," Mar'cte pleaded, but he knew it was no use. Her mind was made up.

"If you have ever cared about me as your sister, you'll let me go right now," Jasmine said to his masked face. Slowly, he released her shoulder and handed her a larger hunting knife. She turned away without taking it, and without saying anything.

Tears threatened to fall, but she wiped them away. She had to see her way, and she couldn't break down right now. She was able to pick out a trail in the grass, and hoped like hell it would lead her to Kujhade. The grass couldn't move fast enough out of her way, and she was trampling it and tripping over it a little as she ran, but she managed to keep her footing. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Kujhade loved her, she knew this for a fact. Sometimes he had a funny way of showing it, but he loved her very much. He'd begged for these children, and wanted nothing but the best for them. So why? Why would he bring any harm to any of them? Why would he break her heart in two? She wouldn't survive this. If she lost her child, she didn't know how she could ever recover from that. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't do it. Jasmine lowered her head and entered a full sprint along the path in the grass.

* * *

It took two days, but finally little Kujhade had managed to hollow out the dead bug's body and use it as a home. He had done it just in time. The rain that started the night he'd killed it still had not stopped, and this was the sixth day now. The forest floor was sodden, and the animals had all either been caught in flash floods, or had hidden themselves until it was over. The meat of the insect could not be eaten, and even though Kujhade had finally found his pack, his supplies were dangerously low. He only had a few scant pieces of the dried meat left, thanks to his earlier eating frenzy on the very first day. He wished he had been more careful with it, but he didn't really think he would have to stay long. He had held on to the hope then that his bearer would eventually come back, but he knew in his heart that was not true now.

He was hungry. He'd never had the first pick of food. He was made to eat the scraps left over from whatever his bearer and older brother had not eaten. It was never plentiful, but it kept him from starving. Now he was just hungry all the time. The pieces of meat were not enough to satisfy the needs of a growing pup, but he didn't dare allow himself to gobble the last few pieces all at once. Sheltering himself inside the hollowed shell of the bug, Kujhade rummaged through the pack. He carefully took out the remaining food and laid them to the side. He took count. Only three pieces left. His stomach growled at the sight of it, but he refused to eat. He had eaten a single piece at dawn. It was now midday as far as he could tell, but he couldn't eat it. His little tongue snaked out, licking his mandibles in the memory of the taste and then placed the food back into the pack. He curled into a ball, and rocked himself to sleep.

Kujhade awoke to the sound of steady rain. He clutched his stomach as it immediately growled and cramped upon his waking. He had to eat another piece of meat. After he had eaten a single piece, he crawled from his makeshift dwelling into the driving rain. He secured his hunting knife in hand and carefully scanned for any heat signatures nearby. Nothing. He shielded his eyes from the rain with one hand, as he peered into the trees. He would have to climb one of them if he hoped to find anything to eat. Placing his knife in its holster, he gripped the wet tree trunk with both claws and hoisted himself up. Yautja were natural climbers, and so even in the rain it was not a difficult task to get to the lowest branches which were perhaps at least thirty or forty feet from the forest floor.

He'd hit the jackpot, and wondered why he hadn't thought of it before. Many of the animals had sought higher ground when the rain refused to stop, and he found a few of them here. Most of the other predatory animals had eaten all the birds, so the nests were empty and overturned. However, the animals that had eaten them were still in the tree. They were large constrictor like snakes, most with two heads and a lot of teeth. Luckily for Kujhade they had eaten to their fill perhaps a few days ago, and were slow and lethargic. Not to mention the persistent rain had caused them to want to go into a sort of hibernation rather than fulfill the need to hunt or eat. Kujhade was a predator driven now by hunger and a will to survive, so the snakes were in a great deal of trouble.

On instinct, Kujhade tried to make himself appear smaller by bringing his legs up a little, and crawling around the tree to come up behind the resting snake. Kujhade moved silently and slowly, his movements nearly imperceptible as he made his way further up. Soon he was at the tail end of one of the constrictors. He looked for the location of the head and couldn't find it. More than likely the animal had tucked his head away. It was extremely dangerous. Even in its current state the snake-like animal could not be allowed to coil around Kujhade, lest he become its meal. It was large enough to eat the young pup whole. Kujhade would have to be more careful than ever. Gradually, he pulled his knife from its holster and readied it for the one and only chance he would have. His aim would have to be true, because if he did not kill it on the first strike he would die for his efforts. With one claw dug into the thick bark, and one hand with his knife he positioned himself to cut straight across its coiled body. Anything else and he might have to contend with its two heads and mouths. His heart pounded in his chest. He raised his knife and in a flash dragged it across the large snake's body, but he wasn't quite fast enough. Before Kujhade could register that the tables had officially turned, the primary head had struck and had his wrist in its vice-like grip. Kujhade spread his mandibles in shock and pain. Unimaginable pain shot up his arm from his wrist as the snakes three inch fangs buried themselves in it. The snake's secondary head made a frightening appearance as it unhinged its jaws in order to help consume him starting with his arm.

He dropped his knife, as the mind numbing pain and driving rain blurred his vision. He almost let go of the tree, but his fear stopped him. If he let go he would be at the mercy of a creature that would show him none. In a panicked rage, Kujhade began to try to slam his bitten arm against the tree. The snake was resistant at first, as the primary head held on tight. The secondary head couldn't find the right angle to begin properly swallowing Kujhade whole, and had let go. It apparently also felt the pain of the first head being slammed against the tree, as it hissed in anger and tried again unsuccessfully to eat his arm. Harder and harder, in the full grip of abject horror Kujhade slammed his arm against the tree with all his might until the primary head finally released him. He had no time to take inventory of the injury, and that was probably for the best. He tried to grip the tree with it, but the hand was useless at the moment, with the pain almost making him swoon when he tried to flex his fingers.

Having now gotten a taste of blood, the snake was at full alert. Kujhade's initial swipe with his knife had cut almost completely through two coils, so it had been injured and hissed loudly when it attempted to uncoil itself and couldn't. It reared up the front of its body, both heads moving side to side as if looking for its prey. Kujhade simply gawked at the sight, still trying to get his mind around the uselessness of his hand. Even though he was just in front of it, the heads seemed to search blindly for him. Then he noticed that it had no eyes. It was completely blind, so how had it seen him? He had no time to figure it out now. The fact remained that he needed to kill this animal to survive, and he had to do it now. He thought briefly of going down to retrieve his knife, but quickly dismissed that thought. He didn't have time and he might not be able to climb back up given his injured hand. Kujhade had to think. It was blind, but had seen him anyway. Maybe it had sensed him when he got close. With that in mind, Kujhade climbed down a bit until he was just underneath it. He needed a way to get it without falling out of the tree. He looked around frantically for a way to keep himself in the tree, and finally found something. Right next to him was a gnarled branch with a hole in it. It was big enough to stick his arm halfway in, and bracing himself for the pain, he shoved his damaged hand inside. He roared out in agony, but managed to dig his feet into the bark for more leverage. The snake above him still had not figured out where its quarry had gone off to, and that was perfect. Kujhade inched his free hand up little by little, and then yanked as hard as he could. With a loud hiss and a thud, the snake had been pulled from its perch and thrown to the ground below, hitting a few small branches as it fell. Kujhade watched it land on the ground, but it was still moving. With great care, Kujhade removed his arm from the hole in the tree, and shimmied down to the ground. With no time to lose, he rooted around in the wet leaves and mud until he found his knife. Hurriedly, he kneeled down and began stabbing wildly at the snake until it didn't move anymore. With a loud hiss that eventually died out, the snake lay dead before him. Kujhade let out a long roar full of triumph, fear, anger, pain, and a strange sense of relief. He had survived again. He had killed something else before it could kill him, and even though he was hurt he would live. Kujhade looked down at his kill, the rain washing away the blood. The pain from his mangled hand managed to distract him from the hunger pains in his stomach. The rain had washed away the blood from him also and revealed a row of deep puncture wounds that continued to bleed. He didn't know how to deal with such a wound, but the important part was that he was alive. His bearer might have been wrong about Paya. It seemed that Paya had seen fit to be kind to him after all. The Black Hunter would have to wait another day.

* * *

He was drawn from his memories by the sound of fast approaching footsteps. Kujhade still held tightly to his suckling who had gone to sleep in his father's arms. He was kneeling on the ground amid the grass, sweet smelling flowers in bloom all around them. He watched his pup sleep peacefully. This was how it should have been for him all those years ago. Before he could know that something was wrong with him, before he could be left to fend for himself, before he could be reviled among his peers constantly. Reluctantly he drew his largest hunting knife from its sheath on his thigh and raised it above the child.

Jasmine ran and ran until her lungs were burning, and her legs ready to give out on her. She'd never run so hard in all her life, but she couldn't stop now. The stitch in her side had her running with a limp, but she tried her best not to jostle her baby around too much. Thankfully she had secured him tightly. Soon, she came upon a clearing. The path she'd followed in the grass had led her to her husband and child. The scene was oddly peaceful, but her attention was trained on the figure kneeling upon the ground. The light of the moon and the illumination from the lightning bugs provided plenty of light and she could see clearly Kujhade holding Mili in his arms. She would have described it as loving had he not had his knife poised above their baby's heart as he slept. Not knowing what to do next, Jasmine got down on her knees and crawled until she was face to face with Kujhade. He did not move an inch, nor did he acknowledge her presence until she spoke.

"Kujhade," she began, swallowing thickly before speaking again. "Please don't do this, please don't hurt him," she said, unable to keep from choking up at the mere thought and sight of it all.

"You should not have come here Jasmine. I will have words with Lijia about…"

"You will have words with me! Give it to me!" Jasmine demanded as she reached for the knife in his hand. Kujhade easily but gently pushed her away.

"You don't understand," he said calmly.

"It ain't shit to understand! You can't do this! You will have to kill all of us. Do you want to kill all of us?!" Jasmine said, shaking and crying, pleading with his stoic mask which regarded her coolly.

"You know I don't want to kill you," he said. His voice was muted behind his mask, but she thought she heard some of his emotion coming through. She tried to reign in her multitude of feelings, and focus her thoughts to get through to him. She had to rely on his love for her, because she could not physically take the weapon from his hand.

"Kujhade listen to me, look at me," she pleaded as he looked at her, waiting.

"This will kill me. If you take him from me, if you take him from us, it will kill me. I love you, and I love these children. Please, Kujhade. Please…pleeeeaaasseee…pleeeaassee…" she trailed off crying miserably and bowing her head down to the ground, begging and pleading for the life of her child.

His heart hadn't twisted for her since they were on the clan ship. He hated to hear her cry, and he had never really seen her beg but she was begging him now. He recalled how he had begged his bearer's forgiveness and it had been casually dismissed as weak. He did not think Jasmine was weak. Jasmine was now a bearer herself, and was doing what she could to save her suckling. His knife did not waver. He made no move to continue his gruesome task, nor did he make a move to put it down. His chest heaved more than it ever had since he was a scared pup in the forest. He had to explain this to her, to get through to her.

"It is because of how I feel about him that I do this Jasmine. You cannot see it now, but it is mercy. He cannot live how I have lived. Cut off from his clan, denied the right to live his life as an honorable yautja because of how he appears. He will have no mate, he will live in obscurity. He will not exist among his kind Jasmine. For a yautja, the clan is everything…" Kujhade said, his words exhausted. He didn't know how to continue the sentence.

Jasmine thought deeply about what he was saying. Even in her highly emotional state, she thought she could understand what he meant. She thought she could understand how deeply the ignominy of his existence had hurt Kujhade. Through all of that, he could not be allowed to kill their child. Jasmine inched closer, still on her knees before her husband. She unwrapped Marcus and cradled him in her arms. She scooted closer to Kujhade until their knees were touching and the babies were next to each other.

"Would it be honorable to kill me in this moment Kujhade?" Jasmine asked, knowing his answer. He tilted his head to the side. Why would she ask him that?

"Of course not, you know that it would not be honorable," he answered.

"So why is it honorable to kill an innocent baby?"

A simple question which right up until now had a simple answer, or at least Kujhade and cycles upon cycles of generations of yautja had thought it was simple. Why was it honorable to kill an innocent suckling? Had he been hunting and killed even an unarmed adult prey, he would be a bad blood straight away, but somehow killing their own offspring had not been met with anything more than a sense of duty to one's clan, one's bloodline.

"I'm begging you not to do this Kujhade. Don't you love him?" Jasmine asked, her voice still thick with emotion. Her tear streaked face was searching his mask for answers.

He looked down at his suckling who had woken up with all the crying and commotion. He caught sight of the knife's blade and reached a small hand to touch it. Kujhade hastily moved it from his grasp, not wanting the pup to cut himself. Mili looked up at his father, and then from nowhere flashed him the cutest smile he could muster with a mask over his small face. In that moment, Kujhade knew that he could not do it. He could not bring himself to kill a pup he had sired. He remembered the pup before these two. How he had secretly wished for it to have been spared, and the feeling of loss at the knowledge that it was not to be. The knowledge that his line was destined to end with him. Now he was holding his future, his right to continue his line, his living proof that his seed was strong enough to take root and be dominant. He was holding proof that he not only had survived, but should have survived. He had fought tooth and nail every day to live, and even though he could not and would not shield him from all hardship, he would not allow him to undergo needless trouble.

"Sei-i," he finally answered, his voice so low Jasmine could barely hear it. He sheathed his hunting knife, and drew his pup even closer to his chest.

"Sei-i. Sei-i," Kujhade repeated over and over, cradling Mili in his arms as the baby cooed and began to kick a little.

Jasmine burst into tears as she reached out to Kujhade, embracing him with their children between them. Kujhade could only continue holding on to Mili for dear life.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to everyone for all the support, views, reviews, and the likes and follows. I know I'm not updating as quickly as you all might be used to me doing, but I've been struggling a little with crafting these chapters to convey the emotion that I'd like to get across. I hope I did some justice to this moment. I was hoping that I didn't rush it, but I get the feeling that I did anyway. In any case, I hope you enjoyed that.**


	8. To Kill A Gharial

"Well look at that," Turok said to himself as he took in the scene.

"What a beautiful fucking sight. Too bad I'm gonna have to break up the little family. First you big boy, then I'll enjoy crunching on the kids' bones, then finally fuck that little bitch of yours. She's a little small, but she'll do just fine," he continued as he looked through an old pair of binoculars at the resting family.

Turok had landed well away from his intended landing spot, and it had taken him three of this planet's days to come anywhere near his quarry. Now he had run upon a scene that many would not have believed possible. The large white yautja was apparently sleeping in a small clearing with his female and their little ones. Setg'in had mentioned the human female was pregnant, but it was still surprising to see. As far as Turok could tell, the little bastards didn't look anything like the mother. He put his binoculars away, and made his way down the small hill.

Carefully he skirted around the sleeping family, keeping an eye on the yautja. Turok was almost giddy at just how easy these pickings were shaping up to be. How this particular hunter had managed to reach adulthood Turok was sure he didn't know, but it was a wonder he hadn't been killed much earlier if he was this easy to sneak up on.

The terrain of this area of the planet was relatively flat and easy to traverse. The grass was tall and dense, and it provided the perfect kind of cover for a Gharial. Turok got down on all of his hands and knees, and more or less slithered his way through the grass like a crocodile cuts quietly through water when he is set upon his prey. He never lost sight of the sleeping family, salivating at the thought of feasting on the tender flesh of the little ones. Thirty yards, twenty yards, ten. He was almost there. He couldn't smell them but he didn't need to.

Turok rolled in like a freight train, bowling over the large yautja and tearing into his tough hide with his teeth. He wrestled with Kujhade, who strangely wasn't fighting back. Turok had a mouth full of yautja which tasted oddly of bark. He used his considerable bite force to break through, hearing the satisfying crunch of bone and getting a mouth full of tree bark and something slimy for his efforts. Finally, Turok stopped writhing around and stopped to take an assessment of his situation. Realization dawned quickly. He had been tricked by a basic holographic image. Instead of running into an opponent he'd run into a trap. He crunched through the old log and now he was covered in some sort of gooey slime. Turok stood, not quite panicking but wanting to get it off of him. He was up and wiping himself when he stumbled into yet another trap, and this one was worse. Too wrapped up in getting the substance off of him, Turok had gotten his neck caught in an invisible noose and was now having his bulk hauled up into a tree.

Turok's thick scaly hide was keeping him from immediately choking to death, but his breathing was restricted enough that he needed to conserve his energy. If he exerted himself trying to get free, he would die of asphyxiation. He stopped struggling as he rose higher and higher, and eventually found himself face to face with his invisible captor. A crackle of electricity revealed Kujhade, squatting on his haunches on the large wide tree branch. The length of cable Turok was hanging by, was slung over a higher branch, and the end was coiled around Kujhade's hand.

"Did Set'gin send you?" Kujhade asked, knowing the answer but wanting to hear the confirmation. He did a brief once over and immediately tightened the noose. This one had old Yautja tech which included a wrist gauntlet and a plasma cannon. Turok glared in defiance rather than answer the question. He had never been a snitch, and he wasn't gonna start today.

Realizing that his prey did not intend to talk, Kujhade calmly wrapped the end of the cable on a random branch to hold it in place. Before Turok's eyes could register the movements, Kujhade had lengthened his wrist blade and relieved Turok of his upper left arm up to the shoulder, where the plasma cannon and wrist gauntlet was located. Turok let out a strangled sound full of pain and fury. He reached out to grab Kujhade with his other hands, but received a quick cut to all three in return. From his belt Kujhade pulled a small vial of something. He opened it hastily and poured the viscous contents onto a small rag. Kujhade then placed the rag on the stump of Turok's severed arm, cauterizing the wound and causing Turok's eyes to roll to the back of his head.

"Hraka bugs do not like the smell of blood from any creature. They won't approach it, if it's bleeding," Kujhade said casually, as if that explained everything.

"Did Setg'in send you, yes or no?" Kujhade asked again, having put away his tools but left the end of the cable tied to the tree. He had also removed the gauntlet and plasma cannon and housing from the severed arm, and discarded the appendage by throwing it a great distance from the tree they were in.

Turok still wasn't doing any talking. Kujhade was growing tired of the game. The capture had gone smooth to the point of being boring, and he desperately wanted to get on with a hunt for more challenging prey.

"You're covered in the eggs of a Hraka nest. They care about their pups, and are vengeful when the eggs are destroyed. They can smell their nests and eggs from a great distance, so I have no doubt they will be here shortly, and when they arrive they will kill you," Kujhade explained to the horror of the would be assassin.

"If that's the case, I ain't tellin' you shit," Turok struggled to say.

He was about to say more, when a dull buzzing noise filled the air around them. A shadow soon passed over them, and the leaves began to rustle as a swarm of what Turok assumed were those Hraka bugs the yautja had referred to, descended upon him. They were as large as midsized dogs, and resembled a cross between a dragonfly and a hornet. Turok was covered in them, flailing his arms wildly and swinging around which tightened the noose until he could make nothing more than a wheezing, gasping noise. They attacked him mercilessly with stingers as long as a man's forearm. Once they were all gathered upon Turok, Kujhade cut the cable then launched a net after the falling mass of dead alien and swarming, stinging bugs. They landed with a wet thump. Kujhade gathered the old yautja equipment and made his way quickly down to the ground. By the time he got down, Turok and all the bugs were dead, having been cut to pieces by the net. He looked over the pathetic scene. None of them were worth taking a trophy from so he left the mess of carcasses where they were.

He strolled back to the ground cave entrance where he had left Jasmine and the pups to hide. He found her pointing the hand cannon he'd given her just in case. Jasmine breathed an audible sigh of relief when she saw Kujhade standing above her. He hauled her out of the cramped hole with one hand, and they walked back towards the ship together. The boys were up, slung on Jasmine's back, and looking at everything they could possibly see, squinting in the bright sunlight. Mili's eyes were watering from the intense brightness, and Kujhade reached for him. He cradled Mili in the crook of his arm, and snatched a broad leaf as he passed a tree. He positioned the leaf over Mili to relieve him of his discomfort from the sun. He held it like that as they walked, even as Mili was trying to get the leaf out of his father's hand and try to find a way to eat it through his breathing mask. Smiling, Jasmine hooked her arm with Kujhade's and looked up into his masked face.

"Did you find anything out?" Jasmine asked.

He'd suddenly woke them up a few hours ago and brought her to the cave entrance to hide. She simply did as he asked without asking too many questions, or protesting him in any way. He gave her a hand cannon to use just in case it wasn't him that found her, but he hadn't been gone very long.

"I know enough, but not as much as I would like," he said, and she could tell he didn't want to discuss it further at the moment.

They walked arm in arm into the ship, where Lijia and Mar'cte seemed to be waiting on them. Both yautja stared in awe as Kujhade entered the ship carrying his albino pup. He could see the glisten in Lijia's eyes and the questions in Mar'cte's as they gazed upon the child in his arms. After closing the doors, he took off his mask, shook his dreads, and rolled his shoulders.

"He is my pup. He will not be abandoned, he will not be killed, and he will not be harmed," Kujhade said, making his announcement and looking at each of the two yautja as if to silently ask if they had understood, and if not he wasn't opposed to making them understand.

Lijia simply looked from the pup to Jasmine, who was still smiling and looking relieved. Mar'cte gave him an imperceptible nod. After that, Kujhade tossed down the old tech he'd recovered from Turok in the middle of the floor. Mar'cte looked at it and back up at Kujhade confused, but ready to be amused by the tale that brought the items into Kujhade's possession. Sensing his question, Kujhade put a hand up, bidding Mar'cte to hold on a second. He carried the baby into the medical bay and lay him on the metal cot. He removed the breathing mask to which Mili approved with a big yawn and vigorous kicks. Curious, Jasmine, Lijia, and Mar'cte followed and peered into the room.

Kujhade looked his son over. His skin was peeling and flaking, and he kept squinting his eyes. Kujhade reached into a wall panel and retrieved a container from among other bottles and jars. Coming back to the table, he opened the jar and the scent filled the room. To Jasmine it smelled of some sweet flower or perfume and she took a deep inhale of it. Meanwhile, Kujhade had scooped a bit out, and gently he rubbed it all over Mili's body even undoing his diaper and rubbing his little bottom.

"Uh, uh, uh, uuuuhh," Mili grunted his little baby grunts and cooing as his bottom was being rubbed with the cooling salve.

Kujahde's purring suddenly boomed from him and filled the room. He leaned down and came very close to his suckling's face and quieted his purring and clicking. He was now doing what he'd refused to do the night he first saw him. Kujhade was imprinting upon little Mili as he had done with Marcus. After a few minutes it was over and Mili was ready to play. Jasmine was holding Marcus who was responding to his brother's voice. He started kicking and wiggling trying to turn around in her arms. He was getting really strong to be so young still.

Kujhade stood up carrying Mili who was now covered in a dark brown salve.

"This will protect him from the sun Jasmine. I discovered its use when I was a pup in the forest," he instructed her as he handed her the baby. Immediately, he and Marcus started cooing and grabbing at each other. They were almost too much to handle when they were excited like this.

Everyone moved back as he came out of the medical bay. Jasmine quickly lay the boys in the pit where they struggled mightily to play with each other, and loving every second of it. She hurried to see what Kujhade was saying about his earlier encounter.

"We have to find the assassin's ship. He had an old wrist gauntlet and a plasma cannon," he was telling Mar'cte who was paying close attention to the story and the equipment, and shaking his head.

"What kind of idiot sends a Gharial after one of us?" Mar'cte asked with a chuckle at the thought.

"I know brother. He fell for a simple hologram also. I heard his footfalls and saw his heat signature well before he came upon the clearing. The Hraka's made quick work of it," Kujhade said, chuckling at it himself.

"He said nothing, but if he has a gauntlet he has a ship, and we need to find it. I doubt he knew how to work the systems properly beyond flight. Whatever he has been doing, and whoever he has been speaking to will be located on the ship," Kujhade said.

Mar'cte turned on the old gauntlet which fired up instantly, and displayed a 3D image of the ship it was synced to. He quickly mapped out the distance and best route.

"It will take us about two of this planet's days if we go at a good pace and don't stop to sleep or hunt," Mar'cte said. They'd been squatting and talking, and now they both rose to their feet.

"I want to get started right away," Kujhade stated as he grabbed the mask he'd set down.

"What do you want me to do while you're gone Kujhade?" Jasmine said. She hated it anytime he had to hunt or go away for more than a day. She was accustomed to sleeping with him at night.

He walked over to her and caressed a claw down her face. She wrapped her arms around his neck and covered his closed mouth with tender kisses.

"Simply take care of our pups, and wait for me to return my mate," Kujhade said, wrapping a burly arm around her waist.

"Don't be gone too long," she said silkily to him and landed one more kiss square on his mandibles. He let her go as he donned his mask, and made sure he had everything he needed.

Mar'cte tried to get in a farewell quickie right in front of everyone, which was lightheartedly but firmly rejected by Lijia. They both left the ship on their way to find what answers they could.

* * *

(Two and a half days later)

The ship was so old the two hunters couldn't believe it still functioned. It needed to be made into scrap metal at this point. The doors opened with audible creaks and groans, and the mist that was now confined to the trophy rooms of newer ships, was everywhere. It billowed out as soon as the doors were open. Carefully Kujhade and Mar'cte entered the ship, scanning it for the booby traps that it was capable of having. It was old, but the Gharial that was using it had really run it into the ground. He hadn't maintained it at all. It was filthy and stank of his kind. He tried to recreate his natural habitat by putting in various leaves and foliage, but had allowed it to rot until they liquefied. Such was the nature of Gharial's. They always tried to recreate where they came from, but it was always gross. Kujhade had stopped hunting them for this among other reasons. It took him more than a few days to get that smell off of his body and weapons, and he often couldn't hunt during that time because of the strong odor.

After they were satisfied that the ship was safe, they turned on the console and looked back over every transmission for the past six months. They weren't surprised. The Gharial didn't know how to clear the archived history so it was all there to see and hear. Money had been given to Turok to perform various misdeeds, including killing other yautja that neither Kujhade nor Mar'cte knew. They both became infuriated at the extent of Setg'in's evil. As they poured through the various audio transmissions, they caught wind of some of the lies being spread about them. They recognized Setg'in's voice but not the voice of whoever he was speaking to. Kujhade and Mar'cte took a seat and listened.

 _Setg'in: …Kujhade was made arbitrator, but only to appease him. Bakuub had a soft spot and hesitated to kill him. He paid with his life._

 _Other: Hm, I see. And how did you lose your arm?_

 _Setg'in: Again, it was Kujhade. He finally became the bad blood we all thought he would. Myself and a few other council members tried to warn Bakuub of this outcome, but he didn't pay heed. He came at Bakuub and cut down several honored yautja among us in the process. He has a human mate that he has disgustingly impregnated and…_

 _Other: Bakuub made Kujhade arbitrator, yes?_

 _Setg'in: Yes, but…_

 _Other: Are you saying Bakuub did this out of cowardice? He was afraid of a yautja that was below him in rank?_

 _Setg'in: …_

 _Other: Speak!_

 _Setg'in: He practically raised that yautja. It was not cowardice that provoked him, it was the weakness of his resolve. He forgot just how reckless and ruthless a bad blood can be._

 _Other: One thing you never mentioned Setg'in. Who was the unknown yautja with his_ _face beaten to the point of being unrecognizable?_

Mar'cte paused the feed. He and Kujhade sighed and sat back, looking at each other in stunned silence.

"The voice was female, older," Mar'cte mentioned. Kujhade nodded,

"Who do you think he was talking to?" Mar'cte asked.

"There are only a few choices. It was either the Matriarch of our clan, or her personal enforcers. Either way, she clearly had authority over him. He picked his words carefully," Kujhade commented, clicking his mandibles in thought.

"Want to listen to more?" Mar'cte asked. Kujhade nodded. The audio feed resumed.

 _Setg'in: What other yautja?_

 _Other: *roaring loudly* Do not play games with me! The matriarch of our clan has sent me to question you, and I will not return with half-truths and convoluted answers!_

 _Setg'in: … I do not know_

 _Other: …_

 _Other: Where were the other two arbitrators at this time? It was rather convenient that they were not present when Kujhade suddenly became a bad blood._

 _Setg'in: They were sent to see to the returning blooded warriors, to make sure no kiande amedha was accidentally brought on board_.

 _Other: It was a marvelous feat indeed. That two yautja and a pregnant ooman could take out several of the ships best hunters, including two arbitrators, several council members, the clan leader, and not to mention the Old Hunter. Our clan will feel his loss for cycles upon cycles to come. He was your old mentor was he not?_

 _Setg'in: Yes_

 _Other: Yet the ones responsible for killing him still live while blood courses through your body?_

 _Setg'in: …._

 _Other: I will return to the matriarch with my findings. For now, I will remain here and expect your full cooperation as I complete my final investigations. Is that understood?_

 _Setg'in: Yes, Dteinou Thei-de_

The feed ended there. The two hunters regarded each other again trying to really process what they had heard.

"The biggest question is why here? Why would a conversation between Setg'in and the matriarch's enforcer be here on a ship that had a gharial running it?" Kujhade queried out loud.

"We know how they are. If Setg'in was stupid enough to use one for his dirty work, he should have expected such disloyalty. I have no doubt he acquired these transmissions for later use as blackmail. It would've gotten him nothing but killed, but it's the only thing that makes any sense," Mar'cte offered.

"I suppose you're right, but it still doesn't explain how he would have gotten the information in the first place. Unless he knew more than we thought about how to use our tech," Kujhade said. He began to sync his own gauntlet and retrieve all the audio files.

"Do you think that's a good idea brother? Won't Setg'in know you've heard these transmissions?" Mar'cte asked with concern.

"I don't care what he knows. As arbitrator I am duty bound to kill him for his treachery, so what he knows and how he knows it means nothing to me. We left the clan ship Mar'cte, but make no mistake; I was never hiding," Kujhade said as he finished syncing all audio, and sending it to his own ship's database to be archived.

"Well, in that case let's get rid of this thing and get out of here. It stinks of Gharial," Mar'cte said, rising to his feet.

Kujhade followed suit. Once they were clear of the ship, they set it to self-destruct. It imploded upon itself, causing minimal damage to the land around it. There wasn't much left of it other than a few marks on the ground.

* * *

Two days later, the hunters made it back to their own ship to find Jasmine alone with the pups.

"Where is Lijia?" Mar'cte asked, a brow raised at her absence.

"She left for a hunt. She said she couldn't let you have all the fun," Jasmine answered, as she ran over to Kujhade, jumping on him before he could take his armor off.

"What did you two find out? Anything important?" She asked Kujhade, laying a few kisses on his face before getting down and letting him get comfortable.

"Actually, we found out enough information about what he's been up to, to bring to the matriarch of our clan. Given his position, and the lies already spread about me it would play into his hands to simply go back to the clan ship and kill him. I have to do this the long way. I believe that we may have enough proof of his actions so that no clan elder would stand in the way of me fulfilling my duty to kill him for the bad blood he is. My honor as well as Mar'cte's would be unblemished after he is dead," Kujhade said, a mouthful for him.

Jasmine considered what he was saying, but truly didn't know what going to the matriarch entailed. Obviously, they'd found some pretty damning evidence if they had to bring in the high authorities.

"Are we still going to that other clan? To R'ka?" Jasmine asked him. Kujhade shook his head.

"It's unnecessary now. She was a good option when I had no proof. She would have acted as a liaison between myself and the matriarch but now I have no need of it. I can speak to her myself," Kujhade said.

"Wait, he was talking to the enforcer already. She would have reported all to the matriarch Kujhade," Mar'cte interjected.

"She would have, but she has not. If she had, we would have been summoned to the matriarch's presence, but no such thing has happened. I don't believe her enforcer ever made it back to her to report anything," Kujhade answered. Mar'cte grunted in agreement. It made perfect sense.

"How long will it take to get there, and where is 'there'?" Jasmine asked.

"First we must stop at a trading ship for supplies. It is only a few days' travel from here. After that we go to our home planet, Yaut Prime. It should take only a month or so to arrive, and it is there we will meet with the matriarch of our clan," Kujhade told, as he began to undress. Mar'cte had left, presumably to do the same. Kujhade washed himself to remove the lingering smell from being in the old yautja ship, and eventually joined Jasmine and his pups for some much needed rest.

* * *

She came. She saw. She saw too fucking much actually. The chief enforcer for the matriarch had arrived with her questions and her snooping about four months after everything had happened, and she hadn't left yet. Setg'in had to be on his best behavior, even going so far as to hide his Shirxa mate from Dteinou Thei-de's prying eyes. Even being around a Shirxa at this time would be enough to pin him for all he had done, and he had worked too hard to allow it to come to that.

So he'd sent her on one wild goose chase after another, while he thought of ways to send her back empty handed. He wasn't coming up with anything except the thought of killing her. It was reckless and rash, but what choice did he really have? Still, it was foolish even as just a thought. If she did not return to the matriarch his crimes would be evident. He had to think of something and fast.

Setg'in was seated in the main bridge, lost in these very thoughts when the door to the room slid open. The frail ooman woman came to stand before him, holding a platter laden with food. Her head was bowed, her hair lank and hanging in her face. She was gaunt from malnourishment, dark circles around her eyes from lack of sleep, and she could barely walk without pain from her privates. They'd been having rough sex with her almost daily.

Setg'in leaned forward and snatched the platter out of her hand. Before she could react, he planted a booted foot in her midsection and shoved her backwards violently. The woman fell back with a low groan, and struggled to get back to her feet. He was about to get up and force her to her feet, but he was too late. Before he could get out of his seat, the woman had expired on the spot. Setg'in let out an irritated chuff and called for one of the yautja guards outside the door. Instantly the guard was before him. Setg'in merely gestured towards the female on the floor. The guard set about the task of retrieving her dead body as though he had done it plenty of times before, and indeed he had. Setg'in seated himself again, and continued thinking of ways to get rid of Dteinou Thei-de.


	9. Marked

Jasmine arose from the pit having finally put her twins to sleep. It has almost been two months since their birth, and they were just now sleeping the whole night after nursing. Also, it had been since before their birth that Jasmine and Kujhade had enjoyed each other or had any time alone. Kujhade was resting now, but she knew the perfect way to truly relax him. They had remained on the hunting planet for an extra two weeks after Kujhade had killed the assassin, and day by day he'd gotten crankier and more irritable. At first Jasmine couldn't figure out why. The situation with Setg'in hadn't really changed, so she didn't think it was that. It dawned on her after she thought about just how long it had been since they'd had sex. There wasn't anything to be done about it, but Jasmine had been keeping strict count of the time. She remembered hearing back on Earth that a woman shouldn't have sex any sooner than six weeks after childbirth. She didn't know if it was a medical fact or just the sound wisdom of mothers, but it felt correct and she didn't want to risk it. Jasmine had also heard that a woman's sex drive decreased dramatically after giving birth as well, but that was only partially true for her. She had no desire in the immediate days and weeks after, but within the last few days her libido had grown, and was fast reaching a fever pitch. She had to have Kujhade, now.

She traced her fingers lightly across the crest of his head and his bare chest, easily rousing him from a deep sleep.

"Follow me," she whispered and padded quietly towards the bathroom.

Jasmine stepped into the pool sized tub and lazily swam from one side to the other and back again. When she swam back to the shallow part, Kujhade was standing over her on the edge of the tub. He had divested himself of all clothing, and was standing at complete attention watching her cut smoothly through the water.

"Hey you. Finally decided to join me big boy?" Jasmine teased as she splashed him with a bit of the very warm water. Kujhade only grunted as he stepped down to join her.

"Wait, just stand there and let me look at you for a minute," Jasmine demanded as he stopped at the top of the short staircase that led down into the water. For a long while she let her eyes roam over every part of him. Kujhade had never had a female openly ogle and appreciate his physique as Jasmine always did. He puffed his chest out, flexing his muscles. He thoroughly enjoyed showing off for her still.

She crawled out of the water, starting to kiss and run her tongue along his large muscular calves. She did this kind of thing often, and Kujhade loved it each time patiently waiting for her to give every part of his body attention until she got her fill of it. Slowly she worked her way up his thighs, deliberately dodging his length and effectively teasing him. He loved the feel of her hot soft mouth and hands everywhere, and couldn't hold in a purr as she made her way across his abs. Jasmine even stopped to take his fingers in her mouth, sucking each one individually and moaning around them. She knew he liked that ever since the first time he forced his thumb into her mouth.

Standing naked before him now, she paid attention to his chest before taking one of his tendrils into her mouth. Kujhade's eyes fluttered before he lifted her up with a grunt. She wrapped her legs around him and never let go of the tendril in her mouth. All his mandibles splayed at the sensation and the shivers she was causing to course through his body right down to his loins. Suddenly she dropped his dreads from her lips and planted them on his inner mouth. Jasmine shoved her tongue inside and he eagerly presented his own, loving this "tongue kissing" as she called it.

She grabbed his face between her hands as she pulled away from the kiss, and looked into his eyes. She had what looked like tears in her own, and he tilted his head in question.

"Thank you," Jasmine whispered to him. "Thank you for not…you know," she said, unable to bring herself to say the actual words.

Placing his building desire on hold for just a brief moment, Kujhade stepped down into the water and carefully sat Jasmine down on the edge of the tub, her feet dangling in the water behind him. He grabbed her shoulders firmly but gently, seeming to search for words before he spoke.

"I am indebted to you Jasmine, the bearer of my sucklings. You saved me from dishonoring myself, and spilling the blood of an innocent; a pup I have sired. You have made me understand that allowing him to live is mercy, protecting him is honorable, and that we are his clan forever," Kujhade said as he stared deeply into her eyes.

"Now is not the time for tears, my wife," Kujhade said as he wiped one away before it fell.

Jasmine smiled at him instead, liking his use of the English word "wife" instead of life mate. She enjoyed being his wife, and she was going to show him just how much. She wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him into a lustful, passionate kiss.

"What is it time for then?" She asked between kisses. Kujhade grunted in return, then grabbed two handfuls of her butt.

"I have waited too long," he growled out, forcing her to lay back as he crawled out of the water and onto her. He nuzzled her neck causing her to giggle, but then she placed her hands against his chest to get his attention again. He growled low in sexual frustration, both loving and hating the way she liked to tease him.

"Mark me again Jhade," she said suddenly and to his delight. He had meant to do it sooner, but it never seemed a good time. Now it was the perfect time.

"Where?" He asked. It was unusual to ask the female, but he had gotten used to doing the unusual when it came to Jasmine and mating. She shrugged innocently in response.

"I don't care, wherever you want," she said, her voice silky and her scent overloading his senses and clouding his logical responses. He knew exactly where he wanted to mark her.

Suddenly he flipped her over on her stomach, and lifted her hips until she was on her knees. He eyed the two round mounds of flesh before kneading them roughly. She moaned at his touch. Heat was emanating from him as was his mating musk that she loved so much. That coupled with his purring always placed her in a lust filled haze. Jasmine looked back over her shoulder to see him bent down, about to bite into her exposed bottom. She bit her lip and whimpered, as he sunk all his tusks into her then quickly followed it up with his long thin tongue. The pain slowly gave way to a tingly feeling as he licked her until the wound stopped bleeding. She thought he was done until he bit her a second time on her other cheek. Kujhade licked the wound again until the pain subsided into tingles.

His wife hadn't screamed bloody murder this time, and that was an extreme turn on. She was stronger. She could take it. He rose up on his knees behind her, enjoying the view and the small moaning and whimpering sounds she was making. The marks were deep and prominent and would scar beautifully in a few days. He caressed her bottom again, then smacked one cheek hard.

"Ow!" Jasmine exclaimed, but made no motion to get away from him.

He smacked her ass again, alternating from one cheek to the other before reaching down to grab her by the back of the neck. She tensed, but relaxed almost immediately after. He couldn't believe it. She was going to let him mate her the way his kind was accustomed to doing. Ever since the very first time he had attempted to mate her this way, she had been in charge of all their sessions. Not that Kujhade had a problem with that. She had introduced new things to him and he loved everything she did to him sexually. Right now, she was whimpering and moaning in a mixture of pleasure and a small bit of pain but otherwise submitting. To test whether or not she was really going to allow him to do what he wanted, he reached down and grabbed both her arms, and pinned them behind her back with one hand. Again, she tensed slightly but did not move away. More importantly, her sweet scent did not give way to fear as it had that first time. If anything it had increased in its intensity and that did nothing but hand Kujhade over to the sexual fog he was descending into.

Jasmine had made up her mind that no sooner than she could have sex again, she was going to let Kujhade run the show. She was nervous about her own reaction to that, given how she reacted before but now it was different. She knew him now and knew that he had no intention of harming her. She was also more confident than ever in his love for her, and that allowed her to place his actions more in the realm of some harmless dom/sub play, rather than viewing it as a potential rape. She tensed when he grabbed her neck, then pinned her arms. He had even leaned a bit of weight on her, completely immobilizing her in the process but she closed her eyes and tried to enjoy it. She was surprised to find that she _was_ enjoying it, especially when he started spanking her. The bites hurt, but since she was ready for it, it wasn't so bad anymore. In fact, it was kind of good, and she was surprised to find herself liking the way the pain managed to mingle with her pleasure and make it even better. She started moaning in anticipation. She wanted him to take her quickly, but he was waiting around. He was alternately rubbing and smacking her butt, then every once in a while would run a finger between her parted legs. It was absolutely maddening. He did that repeatedly and such a long time that she started to beg him for it.

"Please, Jhade…" Jasmine begged, panting and wiggling around trying to make him hurry. He grunted something under his breath that her translator couldn't decipher, and ground against her without entering.

"Omygod, please Jhade…please," she whimpered again and with a single short roar he gave her exactly what she was begging for in one motion.

Had it not been so long ago since they'd had sex, he could have held out and had more discipline. Her begging took him over the edge though. Her voice was so sweet, her scent even sweeter and he could not contain himself any longer. Kujhade set a rough fast pace, holding her arms behind her back with one hand, and grabbing her hip with the other. Every once in a while he would rake his claws down her back hard enough to make her yelp in surprise, but not hard enough to break the skin. He didn't want to hurt her, he just wanted to completely dominate her.

Jasmine loved it. He was grunting and growling and clicking, and he was saying words that her translator couldn't pick up. She couldn't comprehend the words, but Kujhade was saying some of the filthiest things in his language to her. Things a female yautja would hurt him for saying, but he knew she couldn't understand it and that turned him on even more. Jasmine figured he was doing his version of dirty talk, and she let her imagination run wild with it. She did pick up "pauk" and "c'jit", so she knew for a fact that whatever he was saying it was absolutely nasty.

Her climax accosted her suddenly in the midst of the pounding she was receiving. It was unexpected but certainly more than welcome, and she cried out at the pure bliss of it. It caused her legs to shake uncontrollably, and her voice to crack when she called his name over and over. She collapsed underneath his wonderful assault, and he collapsed with her, never stopping as his own climax took him unawares. As soon as he was done, he flipped her over to have a look at her. When he did, she smiled brightly and wrapped her legs around his middle. He breathed a small sigh of relief; Jasmine was just fine.

She pressed her heels into the small of his back, bringing him in close. He leaned down over her, nibbling her throat and collarbone. The aftershocks were still rocking both of them when she spoke.

"More," she whispered to him, and he was more than happy to oblige.

* * *

Dteinou Thei-de had gone along with Setg'in for the purpose of fulfilling her desire to hunt. He'd sent her to a nearby planet presumably to question one of the surviving arbitrators, but the planet had long since been overrun by Xenomorphs. The infestation was so complete that the planet was now viewed as a home for their disgusting kind. Such worlds served as good hunting grounds for elite and elder warriors who still engaged in regular hunts. Dteinou Thei-de was one such elder. She had never bore children as she devoted her life to the hunt and to the matriarch. She was now the chief enforcer for the matriarch Dhi'rauta, and even at her advancing age she had not lost her hunting edge.

Dteinou Thei-de had taken a pod down to the surface and left her main ship in orbit above it. Her armor was scant, barely enough to cover her breasts and private area. She did not don a cape like some of the male elders, as she found such things ridiculous. They only could get in the way of a good kill. She disembarked on the dark planet. The surface was rocky and barren of any vegetation or sign of life. There was a high wind that brought with it the foul stench of Xenomorph nests. It was a hot wind despite the fact that it was nighttime. She switched the view of her mask to night vision and saw that the landscape was filled with an assortment of cliffs, mountains with sheer sides, and drops that lead only to rocky valleys below. She decided to get to some higher ground and survey the surrounding area. The higher up she went the less chance to run into a hard meat. They enjoyed their caves and underground dwellings if they could find it, and this planet seemed to offer the preferred terrain.

It took some careful climbing on her part, but Dteinou Thei-de finally got to the summit of a high cliff and took a look around. On the valley floor near the foot of the cliffs were various cave openings that no doubt led to the inner depths of the craggy mountains. Around a few openings were the tell-tale sign of goop and slime that marked the Xenomorph's presence. She also saw a few drones make their way in and out of the cave openings. From the number of them, this was probably one of the more populated nests. On a planet such as this, there was often more than one hive and thus more than one queen. Where there was more than one queen, there was an empress to rule over all hives. Dteinou Thei-de did not intend to stay long, and so had no desire to engage a queen or an empress, but then again she would see where the hunt took her. Taking out a queen meant taking out her entire hive, which was something else entirely when doing so on one of their home planets. During a chiva or a random infestation, only drones had time to incubate and develop. On a home planet there was a lot of time with few threats to survival, so the more dangerous warrior class had time to thrive and develop. It would be those that engaged her and she more than welcomed the challenge.

Dteinou Thei-de kneeled down and looked at the sheer edge of the cliff she was standing on. There were no entrances as far as she could tell so she would have to make it across the valley to the other mountain. She double checked her weapons and descended effortlessly down to the valley floor. Her head was on a swivel looking for any sign of ambush as she made a quiet but hasty beeline towards the opening of the hive. Before she could even traverse half the distance, she spotted two runners hunkered down and eating something. Dteinou Thei-de grabbed a smart disc in each hand, and broke out into a full sprint. She threw them at the runners who had only just become aware of the intruder and decapitated them before they could attack or raise the alarm. Catching the discs while in full stride, she took a big leap onto the rock face and began climbing up quickly.

Any professional rock climber would have been in awe at her level of dexterity and sure footedness. She took huge leaps up in order to get above the entrances, and eventually got to a plateau. She sat and watched for about an hour and saw no activity. This was a sign that she had been spotted even though she heard no commotion. She was a master of discipline. It was tempting to simply run in, but that would have been a rookie mistake. Xenomorphs were expert ambush predators, but she was better. Dteinou Thei-de waited a few hours more, barely moving a muscle and her patience paid off. Two drones creeped out of the entrance appearing to look around which was nothing but a ruse. It meant that two or three others were trying to flank her and she wasn't going to have that. On all fours, she backed up moving her head incrementally from side to side while targeting each hard meat. Ever so slowly she got to her feet, reached to the small of her back and retrieved two hand held plasma cannons. There were three to her left, two to her right, and the two drones peeking out of the entrance were making their way onto her ledge as well.

She stood there as the wind which had died down, kicked back up again with a howl. Her dreads were lifted by it, the gust struggling with the weight of her ornaments. The Xeno's had flanked her completely, and with several shrieks advanced quickly. Her muscles knew their deadly work well. Her plasma cannons were hot in her hands as she managed to down two at one time. She had time to shoot one more out of the air before they were too close for gunplay. Dteinou Thei-de spun underneath a tail swipe meant to decapitate her, replacing her guns and drawing her sword in one smooth motion. There were only four more now. She delivered a swipe to the back of one of the creatures who shrieked in pain but wasn't done yet. It had fallen but recovered fast, getting back on its feet and heading in for another attack. The two drones from the entrance were running full speed towards her. She launched a double net, tangling them long enough to take a running start of her own. The nets were dissolving as quickly as they could cut through the drones, but Dteinou was already upon them. One drone was making its way out when a smart disc found its way through its large head, cleaving it in two. She was about to launch it again when one jumped on her back, clawing and stabbing with its deadly inner mouth in an attempt to penetrate her mask and skull. It raked its claws down her back and arms, the florescent blood flowing freely as the gashes ran deep. She ignored the pain and the blood. She stopped in her tracks and backed up against the jagged rocks of the cliff surrounding the plateau they were on. She slammed the one on her back against the side of the cliff as hard as she possibly could, but it didn't let go. The two other drones began their assault. Dteinou Thei-de delivered a devastating kick to what passed as the sternum of one of them, while bringing up her sword to cut the hands off the other. It pulled back briefly, in obvious pain and confusion about its missing extremities.

The Xenomorph on her back was strong and persistent. She slammed it again twice more before it loosened its grip. She turned on it, taking its head off in a single stroke. The drone with no hands was flinging its caustic blood at her, but it was no use. She was a blur as she advanced upon him again, this time plunging the katana into its chest cavity and dragging it upwards, effectively slicing the hard meat in half. There was only one more, and she was pleased to discover that it was not a drone as she assumed. Now that she had gotten a good look, it was the warrior. The very one from whom she had come to take a trophy.

It was a large specimen once it was no longer crouched on all fours. It began circling Dteinou, its long bladed tail waving behind it slowly. Dteinou Thei-de flicked the acidic blood from her blade and watched for an opening. She had wounded it earlier, but it was not as easily brought down like its lesser hive mates.

Dteinou Thei-de had never seen a hard meat with the patience of an actual warrior. They had rudimentary thought and reasoning, but she had never seen a lone one actually assess the situation or appear to plan out an attack. She had time to look down at her katana to check for any sign of corrosion and found none. It was an ancient sword, granted to her as a gift by the samurai warrior whom she had bested on a hunt. He admitted defeat, and before killing himself had given her permission to take his beloved sword in exchange for allowing his body to remain intact for his clan to inter according to their customs. The exquisite sword became her favorite weapon once she realized its resistance to the blood of hard meats. It had proven its worth again, as there was nothing more than a bit of discoloration to mar the shine of the blade.

Finally, the Xenomorph warrior made its move. Coming in fast, he took a running charge on all fours, and just when she thought he would leap he didn't. Instead he spun around, taking a deadly swipe at her with his heavy serrated tail first one way, then quickly back the other. Dteinou barely had time to dodge, before the large beast had turned back towards her. This time it did leap at her and she was ready for it. She took a dive as the Xeno went above. She slid on her back and brought the sword up, managing to slice off one of its legs just below the knee. Dteinou rolled away in order to avoid the spray of blood. The hard meat was little more than a screeching black mass, all tail and head as it tried to stand but not being able.

Confidently, Dteinou Thei-de walked over and positioned the sword at its neck. Its ridged skull would look wonderful on her wall, filling out her collection beautifully. As quick as the strike of a cobra, the beast had tried to impale her upon the edge of its tail, but Dteinou blocked expertly. Instead of piercing her body, the tail now had a good grip on the edge of the sword itself. She acted hastily to keep her enemy from disarming her. She loved that sword and would not see it lost in this way after all these years. She took the smart disc and cut off the tip of its tail. With her sword free, she used it to remove its head from its body, the shriek still dying in a throat that it no longer possessed.

Claiming her prize, Dteinou Thei-de roared in triumph. She took the time to strap the head to her back then made her way back to her ship. She would enjoy cleaning the skull where Setg'in could see. Once she satisfied herself with the look on his face, she would be in a better mood to decipher his many lies.

* * *

 **A/N: If I must say so myself, I think I like Dteinou Thei-de. I can't wait to tell a little more of her story. I thought the story might benefit from the presence of a yautja female hunter.**


	10. The Bazaar 1

Dteinou Thei-de disembarked from her ship in the hangar with two uncleaned hard meat skulls strapped to her back. She stood tall as she strode across the large space and into the ship proper. Passersby dipped their heads in submission and deference to her authority, and the higher authority she represented. Using her wrist gauntlet, she quickly scanned for Setg'in and found him just where she thought he would be.

As she walked with purpose towards her target, she removed her mask revealing piercing light grey eyes and a set lower jaw. Her greyed dreads billowed out behind her as she made her way down numerous halls, and past rooms used for almost every kind of occasion. Dteinou did not boast the wide hips and large breasts of a career bearer. Her hips flared only slightly, and her breasts small for her kind. She was mottled in dark browns, tans, and flecks of blue all over her body, which gave her a very feminine and almost delicate look when coupled with the length and thinness of her arms and legs.

When she was young, she was thought of as exquisitely beautiful, and everyone knew she would make a most desirable bearer, but Dteinou's heart and skill were drawn only to the hunt. She surpassed all other young bloods during her chiva, and was the only one to kill a queen hard meat during it. It was then that she knew she could never be bound to the home planet, and to perhaps never hunt or do so only sparingly. That was alright for some females, but not for her. She was a warrior, and nothing had ever swayed her from a warrior's path.

Now instead of being thought of as a rare beauty, her age made her beauty into regality. Well past the age of bearing sucklings, Dteinou Thei-de had no other thoughts beyond her responsibilities to her race and to the reigning matriarch. Many assumed that Dteinou would be the next ruler. She had even been encouraged to challenge Dhi'routa to a death duel to obtain the position, but Dteinou did not seek power for the sake of power. As a matriarch she would be bogged down with too many things, and not allowed to leave Yaut Prime for long periods. She would also be utterly cut off from hunting, and would only be able to retain her fighting edge in duels that offered little in the way of challenge. Dteinou Thei-de was in many ways still a free spirit. She wanted to hunt, she was content to serve her people as enforcer to the matriarch, and she wanted to uphold Yautjan customs and ways for as long as she lived. Her no nonsense approach, and ability to detect deceit and treachery made her invaluable in this position, and the matriarch Dhi'routa relied heavily upon Dteinou's council in many matters.

Dteinou Thei-de stepped foot inside the once lovely pillowed room reserved for the human women whom Bakuub had invited as sexual playthings for the unmated males on his ship. If she could have turned her nose up in disgust, she would have. An upper mandible twitched in lieu of her non-existent nose. Whatever it had once been, the place was a filthy mess now. The ooman women were there, mere shadows of themselves. Most were on deaths door from malnutrition and starvation, lack of proper medical attention, and harsh physical and sexual abuse from the much stronger yautja males who mated them. Dteinou had no love lost for humans. She hunted them and found it challenging, but on the whole did not believe they had much in the way of honor. Despite that, Dteinou Thei-de also did not believe in the mistreatment of pets. If you were going to keep humans around you may as well take care of them properly.

She looked around at the deplorable conditions of the females she could see. Several women were there sitting around on the cushioned floor and seats. The cushions themselves needed washing, as she could smell a blend of mating musk from both yautja and humans all over them. Dteinou stood still to simply observe and listen. All of the women she could see were staring blankly at the walls, the floor, or their own hands. One of them was rocking and hugging herself, muttering something in a human language Dteinou didn't understand. Some of them didn't seem as though they had washed themselves recently. It was disgraceful. Dteinou didn't understand any yautja allowing or living in such a state, or allowing their pets to do so either.

Standing in the middle of the circular room, Dteinou looked up on the walkway which led to private rooms for mating. From one of them she could hear the sounds of rough mating, and Setg'in's grating voice, making demands. She started up the stairway, her booted feet clanking on the metal grates. She stopped at one of the doors. Dteinou opened her mandibles, taking a big whiff and was immediately disgusted all over again. The mating musk was clear, but so was the distinctive smell of ooman fear. Dteinou Thei-de hastily used the wall panel to open the sliding door. She was appalled at the sight before her.

Setg'in was standing up facing the doorway. With his only arm he was roughly holding the ooman woman's face to his crotch. Dteinou could hear the woman gagging and choking as she weakly tried to push away from the member in her mouth and the male forcing her swallow it. He was so caught up in what he was doing until he paid no mind to the intruder. It must have been commonplace for them to enter upon one another during mating. Without hesitation, Dteinou stepped forward and grabbed Setg'in by the throat with one hand. His eyes nearly fell out of his head as he let out a very unyautja-like yelp in surprise and then sudden anger.

The woman scrambled backwards on her butt until she was clear of the angry female, and left the room in as much of a hurry as she could. Dteinou Thei-de got very close to Setg'in's face and slowly slid out her wrist blades, pressing them underneath his vulnerable chin. His feet were ever so slightly out of the reach of the floor as she lifted him to be eye to eye with her more than nine-foot frame.

"First I would like to thank you for the hunting trip," Dteinou said calmly, her grey eyes steady upon his golden ones.

"You lied to me Setg'in, and I will not tolerate another one. You tried to send me to my death, and I have taken note of the fact, but you will not be rid of me that easily," she said, her voice even, and the blades pressing in so hard that a trickle of blood ran down its sharpened edge.

"Now, if we are quite done with games and lies more suitable to a young blood pup than a so called clan leader, I'd like my trophies cleaned properly….NOW!" She bellowed, slamming him once against the wall before letting him drop to his feet, gagging and giving her a death glare which he dared not act upon.

She stared at him as he righted himself, and found his codpiece. He was seething as he flexed his hand as if to release his own blades. She didn't miss it and delivered a devastating backhand slap to his face, following it up with another choke against the wall.

"You will clean my trophies like the fool you are, because it will give me enough time to think, with you out of my face and out of my way. Make no mistake Setg'in, you are breathing only because I have not unraveled the mystery of your many lies. But when I do, and have no doubt that I will, I will remove your wretched head from your pathetic body, and bring the sorry sight to the matriarch as proof of the deed," she growled at him.

He couldn't take it anymore. Being humiliated on his own ship? He wasn't going to let that go anytime soon. Setg'in delivered a kick to get her off of him which worked. He got his footing and immediately tackled her to the floor, roaring and using his only arm to punch Dteinou in the face. Highly skilled at grappling and wrestling, Dteinou quickly pulled guard, and managed to deliver several blows to his head before eventually mounting him. She dug a wrist blade deep into his side, but Setg'in simply glowered at her. He wanted to scream out, but refused to give this bitch the satisfaction.

"I would stop now if I were you Setg'in," Dteinou said roughly, twisting the blades just enough to make his eyes water, but he still did not give voice to his pain.

"Get off me you bitch!" He growled, which only made her dig a little deeper.

"I have explicit permission from the matriarch herself to kill any who are found to be complicit in the killing of the Old Hunter. All I have to do is kill you here and now, and tell the matriarch that her one-time mate, who had sired at least fifty of her last pups, was avenged by me. Once I tell her it was you she wouldn't bother asking me any details. Do you know why?" Dteinou asked a defiant Setg'in who refused to even speak.

"I'll tell you anyway. We all know who you are. From the day Yeyinde brought you under his wing, we knew something was wrong with you. I remember the time you left with a hunting party of some of the best hunters in our clan, and somehow only you managed to return with many trophies to your name no less. I am no fool. I have always suspected you of some kind of dishonor, and now I have only yet to prove it. I'm going to find out who the unknown yautja was that Bakuub managed to kill, but I have a feeling you hope I don't. No matter, Setg'in. You will be released to the Black Hunter when I am through with you, now get up!" Dteinou said, lifting herself off of an enraged Setg'in.

"Trophy cleaning…now," she said with a completely straight face as she handed him the skulls off her back.

Reluctantly he took them, and she left without another word or look back. He would have to quit playing around and have her killed. He didn't know how yet, and thought he really would have to kill Dteinou himself somehow, until he had a wonderful idea. His shirxa was still here on the ship. Yes, his shirxa would do just what he needed, and he would reward her very kindly for it indeed.

* * *

Kujhade loved to see Jasmine like this. She couldn't close her mouth, and she was trying to look everywhere at once. They had finally gotten to the trading ship which was really more like an intergalactic Mall of America. There was only one large open space, with booths and merchant shops of every description. There were so many alien life forms walking, or crawling, or slithering around. They were selling things she had never seen before and couldn't make out the usage of the items, but almost every stall or shop was full of customers. It was loud and it was bustling, and suddenly it reminded her of Times Square. It was always crowded, always full of so much energy and diversity of people.

Sensing all the surrounding excitement, Marcus was on her back wiggling and starting to cry a little. Jasmine knew what he wanted. The most guarded secret about yautja was that they were extremely nosy, sometimes going out of their way to see or hear what someone else was up to. The babies were the worst. Marcus wanted to see everything too, and until Jasmine made it possible she was going to hear about it. She twisted around a little to grab him and bring him to her front. He immediately began to coo and stare, reaching for complete strangers as they walked by.

Kujhade had Mili again. He couldn't keep away from that boy, so much that Jasmine had to warn him about favoritism. Kujhade was a surprisingly attentive father, and after some small admonishing from Jasmine, paid both boys equal attention. Mar'cte and Lijia were right beside the couple, as they looked around the huge bazaar. All four adults tuned their wrist gauntlets to track each other. They modified one to fit Jasmine, but it was too big for her wrists, so she wore it around her upper arm like a band. A complete layout of the trading ship hovered above the gauntlet in a 3D image, pinpointing their exact position within it.

"Mar'cte and I need some replacement weapons," Kujhade was saying as he slid a small metal card from a belt on his waist. He pressed his thumb on its surface, and the fingerprint seemed to sear itself into the metal. He then handed it to Jasmine.

"Oh shit, you handing me the card to the funds?" Jasmine said, smiling and taking the card.

"It only works in the main trading posts such as this, and on Yaut Prime. It's not recognized anywhere else," he said, not understanding the implications of handing his wife full access to whatever passed as money for him.

"Okay so hold up, where the hell you get money from, and why I don't have any?" Jazzy said, stuffing the card in her cleavage.

"I have always had what humans call money. The chip I gave you marks my rank, and I am entitled to better weapons, armor, and more supplies because of it," Kujhade explained. Jasmine nodded.

"So, you had a damn Platinum card in that loin cloth of yours and didn't tell me. What else you got in there I don't know about?" Jasmine said, reaching for the top of his cloth, and faking a peek inside.

"You have full knowledge of the only other thing in my cloth Jasmine, unless you want to know it again right here," Kujhade said, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her into himself forcefully.

"You ain't nothing but a bunch of talk Kujhade. You not gone bust this open in public," Jasmine challenged, to which Kujhade took exception. Lijia could practically see Mar'cte's eyes rolling behind his mask.

"You doubt my resolve in this matter?" He asked, and she could see he was ready to take her up on the challenge.

"You're too jealous to do it. You said you don't want anyone smelling my "sweet scent of fertility" as you so eloquently put it," Jasmine said, giggling at the whole crazy exchange.

Every time they walked into a crowd he insinuated that they should screw in the middle of it. He was working his way up to doing exactly that, and was talking her into the idea in the process. It was sort of working. He made it very clear that sex was not a private act among his people, and he wished to perform it where and when he deemed it appropriate. The only thing was that his definition of appropriate differed from hers in this regard. While Jasmine was rather sexually liberated, she wanted to keep some ideals of her own. Sex was private where she came from, despite her past as a prostitute. It would almost devalue their relationship in her eyes, likening him to a John, and she couldn't have that. So while it was fun to play and joke, and while it was even a hot fantasy, she didn't want to reduce her love down to a public rutting.

She wanted to kiss him, even if it would have just been on his mask, but thought better of it. After all he did have a reputation to keep up, so Jasmine opted to simply give his hand a squeeze before going their separate ways. Kujhade handed her the baby as he went with Mar'cte to get supplies for the trek to their home planet. Lijia followed Jasmine and took Marcus from her to hold.

"This is a fascinating place isn't it? Does Earth have places like this Jasmine?" Lijia asked, as she bounced Marcus around making him laugh.

"Yeah, we call it the mall, but this place reminds me more of New York, the city I was born and raised in. It's like Times Square," Jasmine said, finding an odd comfort in the fact that she had to squeeze past just to walk.

"What is New York like? You never talk much about your home. Why is that?" Lijia asked innocently, noting the way Jasmine's face made a subtle change.

"I miss it, and I know I will never go back, so I don't waste time talking about it," Jasmine said, her tone more clipped than she wanted it to sound.

"Sorry," Jasmine said to Lijia, who just dismissed it with a shake of her head.

"No need to apologize. I am away from the home planet for very long periods, and I miss it at times also," Lijia explained. Jasmine stopped suddenly.

"It's not the same. You didn't get taken from your home like I did, you left on your own. You didn't get placed with aliens and have to adjust to life in a totally different place, doing totally different things," Jasmine said, taking a deep breath before continuing.

"Don't get me wrong Lijia, I love Kujhade and the kids, and even you and Mar'cte I've come to love, like an extended family. It's just that, well, I was the lucky one. It turned out better than it should've only because Kujhade happened to choose me. If he hadn't I would have still been on that ship, and maybe even dead," she said, not meaning to go into any of that. Lijia considered what she was saying for just a moment before starting to walk again.

"You are right, I'm still among my own kind, but I didn't have much of a choice for leaving either. I could no longer birth sucklings, so I had no choice if I wanted to find a place for myself. I was never one for hunting, but I was interested in medicine and science. I wanted so much to be a bearer, and I was for a time, but," Lijia said trailing off into thought for a moment.

Jasmine was silent. She liked Lijia, and was sure the feeling was mutual but Lijia had never really opened up about her past. Now Jasmine felt silly for complaining.

"I didn't know. I'm so-," Jasmine said cut off by Lijia's raised hand. A short awkward silence followed as Jasmine looked around, searching for a way to turn the conversation to something lighter.

It was then that she saw it. A large booth filled with things she recognized. The person sitting in front of it, had their head down as if they were reading something. In a trance, Jasmine was drawn to the booth. Curious, Lijia followed her gaze, and then immediately understood.

Jasmine stood before the woman sitting behind a small counter, reading a book. The woman looked up and Jasmine gasped a little. It was a woman. A human woman. She was Caucasian, brunette with large brown eyes, and long lashes. She was beautiful. Before she could stop herself, Jasmine reached across the counter and hugged the woman with one arm. The lady was startled into reciprocating before backing off at the sight of Lijia.

"I'm Jasmine, and I'm sorry but,"

"But you've not seen a human in a very long fucking time, I get it," the woman said in a thick English accent. Jasmine smiled and nodded sheepishly.

"Are you really speaking English, like with your mouth and not just because I can translate it?" Jasmine asked the lady.

"No, I'm speaking it outta my fuckin' arse," the lady laughed. "O' course I'm speaking it with my mouth love. C'mon in, take a look around, yeah. Oh by the way, th' name's Karen," she said, smiling and waving Jasmine and Lijia into the booth.

"Thanks Karen. Can I have another hug?" Jasmine asked, not a bit ashamed to ask a stranger for open affection.

"Sure love," Karen said, getting up to hug Jasmine and seeming to notice the baby in Jasmine's arms for the first time.

"Is that a little one?" Karen asked, delighted to have a look.

All at once, Jasmine felt a sudden sense of shame about her babies and the fact that they were half yautja. She had never anticipated really seeing another person, and hadn't thought about how it would make her feel. She knew that she could never live on Earth in peace, and live like a normal family. The people would never accept it. They would probably take and experiment on her kids, evaluate her like she was crazy, and they would capture or kill Kujhade. Well, they would _try_ to kill Kujhade. The point, was that in that very instant she almost hid her child away from Karen, afraid of the judgment. As quickly as the feeling had come, Jasmine fought it. Smiling broadly, she leaned forward to allow Karen a look at Mili.

A brief look of confusion crossed Karen's face as she looked from the baby, to Jasmine, then finally to Lijia, then back to Jasmine.

"Bloody fuckin' hell, I thought this one was a girl!" Karen said, in reference to Lijia. Instantly Jasmine understood the confusion, and couldn't help a hearty laugh.

"Oh hell no! That is a girl! The father isn't over here right now," Jasmine quickly explained, as Lijia placed her hand on her hip. She didn't like being mistaken for a male at all.

"Oh shit, sorry," Karen said, apologizing to Lijia and Jasmine. Then she chuckled at the whole thing and leaned back in to look at the baby.

"I didn't know anyone could get close enough to one of those Pre'a'tahs to have a freaking baby with one. He's a cute little bugger ain't he?" Karen said, as she reached in for Mili to wrap his hand around her finger.

Loving the attention, he promptly went into his cute baby routine by eating one hand, tilting his head to the side, and cooing loudly. Not willing to be left out, Marcus did the same thing, eliciting several 'aaawwws' from Karen as she baby talked to both of them.

"I think we've got something for these little cuties. C'mon, let me show you a few things you might want," Karen said, leading the way.

It was large for a booth, and jam packed from the ceiling to the floor with all kinds of do-dads, and thingamajigs. Some of it still seemed not from Earth, but most of it was. There were dishes, cups, bowls, a few books Jasmine had never read before. There were even some electronics and all of the items seemed new, even if they were a little cheap in quality. There were digital cameras, laptops, a few older model mp3 players, and an assortment of earbuds. As they went through the few aisles, there were clothes, shoes, and women's accessories. There was even a small section of little pieces for home décor. There was one picture which caught Jasmine's eye and made her stop. It was a generic black and white photo of the famous New York skyline. It was the kind of picture you found at a department store, just something to fill the frame but not take away from it. Jasmine couldn't stop staring at the picture. It was almost as if she could see and hear the hustle and bustle of the streets below the tall skyscrapers. Car horns honking, impatient yelling of drivers and pedestrians alike. She could smell the polishes at the hot dog stands, and the smell of pizza straight out of the oven. She could hear the men playing basketball by Marcus' school, and the rap music they would have playing in a nearby car.

"Jasmine? Jasmine are you alright?" Lijia asked with some concern.

Waking from her daydream, Jasmine blinked a few times in Lijia's direction, the smell of grilled onions and polish sausages fading back as if they'd never been there. She wiped her eyes and cheeks. She didn't know she'd been crying.

"I'm okay, it's just… I'm okay," Jasmine reassured, offering a small smile and turning her attention away from the photo.

"Here's what you might need mommy. We've got some baby stuff for your babes," Karen said, and she did indeed have plenty.

"Thanks, I really do need some baby stuff for them," Jasmine said, and it seemed like everything threatened to make her burst into tears.

All of the things Jasmine saw only served to remind her of how unique her situation really was. When she thought of herself having children back on Earth, she always imagined taking them for a walk in their strollers, or having a baby shower, or taking her kids to the park to play. She imagined reading them bedtime stories, and taking them to school, but there would never be any of that for her or them. They wouldn't know what Saturday morning cartoons were, or Sesame Street, or kindergarten. They wouldn't know about graduations, or proms, or learning how to drive, or sleepovers. They were the children of a strong yautja male, and they were males themselves. As such, they would learn hunting and killing as the means to survival. The chiva would be their graduation ceremony, one that they might not live through. They would not drive any cars, but spaceships instead, and their very presence would strike fear into the hearts of all who laid eyes on them.

For now though, they were just her baby boys. They were half human also, and she would make sure that at least some things that passed as normal for her would be done. She found two of those cheap fold away strollers and picked them up. There were also a few baby toys, a little plastic pan she could use as a tub for them, and quite a few onesies. Jasmine knew she would have to make a few modifications to the clothes, but for goodness sakes they freaking had onesies!

"Oh my god, you guys have those little bouncy things!" Jasmine exclaimed as she reached for a box with the bouncy seat inside. It was the kind with the little rack of toys hanging just in the baby's reach.

"How do you get all this stuff and we're so far away from Earth?" Jasmine asked Karen. The latter stopped to consider how to answer.

"The owner of the shop, Mr. Isaacs, owns an importing and exporting company back on Earth. I'm not s'posed to tell anyone any of this, but he deals with all kinds of companies. One of them made all of this possible, letting him travel back and forth from home to out here with his goods," Karen divulged. She seemed as though she'd been itching to tell someone this information, and was relieved to have shared it.

"Which company is that?" Lijia suddenly asked. She had been curiously staring at a set of teething rings trying to figure out what they hell they were for exactly.

"I don't recall the name, but I know I don't like the wankers that come around. They all are world class arseholes, and they all wear that stupid uniform with that huge ugly "W" on the front," Karen said, looking annoyed at the mere thought of those world class arseholes.

"Oh," Jasmine said, suddenly not sure she should even be in a store sponsored or ran by Weyland-Yutani. Lijia cast a look her way but said nothing more.

"You familiar with them?" Karen asked, curious as to Jasmine's one-word answer.

"Not really, I mean I've seen the logo around town….back on Earth," Jasmine said, mentally kicking herself for not sounding confident.

"Oh, well I hate those sonsabitches. They always manage to creep me right the fuck out," Karen said, briefly hugging herself as she shuddered a little. She then looked at Jasmine and smiled, her brown eyes twinkling.

"Enough about them though my love, go ahead and keep looking around. I'll be in the front if you need anything," she said, moving through the cramped aisle back to the front counter.

Lijia waited until she was out of earshot.

"Aren't the Weyland-Yutani people the ones who brought you and those other females to us?" She asked Jasmine, to which Jasmine knitted her brow and nodded.

"Yeah, they're the ones that fucking kidnapped us. Hate those bastards. C'mon Lijia, let's just get this stuff and get out of here," Jasmine said, trying not to let this news ruin her time.

She went around the shop, picking up clothing, all the baby stuff she could carry, a hand sewing kit, two pairs of shoes one of which were some really pretty platform stilettos she couldn't pass up, and a large button pin which said I Love NY on it. They paid for it with what Jasmine thought of as Kujhade's Platinum card. Karen didn't swipe it so much as she just scanned it. Above the scan a quick 3D image of Kujhade appeared along with the word "Arbitrator" in both English and Yautja below it.

"Oh my word, you've got yourself an Arbitrator? Those guys are fuckin' scary as hell," Karen commented as she finished ringing Jasmine up.

"Hey, don't be fucking strangers, yeah? Come back any time with those cute little babies!" Karen said, waving as Jasmine and Lijia walked away with a huge bag full of goods. Jasmine immediately made use of the two strollers, and had to laugh at Lijia having to hunch down to push it and not being too happy about it. The twins loved being pushed, as they kicked and cooed and purred loudly. They really were the happiest little babies Jasmine had ever seen.

"Let's go get the guys," Jasmine said, checking her gauntlet to find them.

It only took them about five minutes to find them, and when they did Jasmine's jaw dropped. There Kujhade was standing in the middle of some large pit covered with a domed top like a gate. He was roaring and posturing and looked like he was about to fight some kind of other large alien. The other alien, which sort of reminded Jasmine of a large grizzly bear was doing a little roar of his own, when the MC of the fight made his announcement.

"In this corner we have Sardon the Yautja Killeeeerrr!" the MC announced to the loud cheers of the gathered crowd. Sardon took center stage, huge muscular arms in the air as if he had already triumphed.

"And in this corner, feared across the galaxy The Arbitratoorrrrr!" he announced again, this time to the jeers of the crowd. Kujhade paid no attention to the crowd whatsoever as he seemed to study his opponent and ready his whip.

"And now, for your viewing pleasure a fight to the death!" he said, and the crows went wild.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello all my beautiful readers! First I apologize for not updating as quickly as I usually do, and for not being as interactive as I usually am with you guys. I've been having some personal issues that have kept me occupied. Due to those issues, I haven't been able to have the kind of concentration which allows me to complete a chapter as quickly as I would like. I will not leave the story however, and will try to be more prompt with the updates, at least once a week. I thank all my new readers, follows, faves, and reviews. It all means a great deal to me, and your support inspires me to keep going.**


	11. The Bazaar 2

The crowd applauded Sardon as he and the yautja circled each other inside the dome. It was clear that the yautja were feared, and not liked at all in general.

"Mar'cte what the actual fuck is happening?!" Jasmine yelled angrily. Mar'cte was front and center, cheering on this madness.

"He must do it. That Sardon supposedly has killed lots of yautja and they brought out skulls of our kind to prove it. I couldn't have stopped him if I wanted to, and I didn't want to," Mar'cte explained, turning his attention back to the fight.

Every instinct inside Jasmine was clamoring for her to stop the fight, but she knew who she'd married. Kujhade thrived on this kind of thing. Hell all of them did. Even Lijia was encouraging Kujhade to tear this thing's spine from its back. Jasmine simply stood dumbfounded that she could do nothing but watch. With Mar'cte's muscle she pushed forward to the very front row to see exactly what was happening.

Kujhade was armed only with his bladed whip. He had his wrist blades as well technically, but swore not to use them. Sardon on the other hand had chosen to use no weapon at all. The two fighters circled each other, Kujhade eyeing his opponent to search for an opening to attack. Sardon was just as tall and twice as wide as Kujhade. He vaguely resembled a grizzly, but with a broader flatter head. He only had three fingers per hand and each was tipped in a long serrated claw.

Uncoiling his whip, Kujhade snapped it at Sardon's head several times which earned him a fierce growl and a charge. It was the opening Kujhade was looking for. Showing him those yautja skulls had been the wrong thing to do. As far as he and so many other hunters were concerned, no one had a right to hunt them. They were the hunters. They were the apex predator, and no one else. One on one battles were fine, but no yautja took kindly to seeing the skulls of their kind paraded around as trophies.

Sardon just missed cracking his head on the side of the cage, as Kujhade moved out of the way just in time. He cracked his whip again this time around one of Sardon's ankles, managing to trip him. Kujhade didn't make any move. He had never fought whatever Sardon was, so he wanted to see how moved; what kind of reflexes and speed he had. Sardon was fast, but not quite fast enough, and not particularly smart either. Sardon fell for the same trick twice, and this time Kujhade made his move. Sardon was a huge brute, but he would not kill another yautja. Tripping him with the whip again, Kujhade pounced while Sardon was trying to get up. Kujhade was on his back, delivering heavy blows to the side of his head and neck. Both were solid places, and the punches weren't as effective as Kujhade would have liked them to be. He was thrown from Sardon's back, landing on his own across the makeshift ring. Kujhade shook his head only to see Sardon charging him again like some kind of wild bull. Getting to his feet with lightning speed, Kujhade got around back of the beast and wrapped his whip around his neck. Sardon flailed his arms in an effort to stop the choking, but it was no use. Kujhade was too strong and the keen edges of the whip dug deeply into his throat.

Kujhade kicked out the back of Sardon's knees and when he fell, Kujhade placed his large booted foot square into Sardon's back, and then pulled the whip tighter. The bear looking alien fell onto his face, the crowd aghast at the sight unfolding before them as they went silent. In a last ditch effort to save himself, Sardon released a quick acting toxin which he hoped would make Kujhade loosen his death grip. Kujhade noticed a slick substance secreting from the sparse tufts of hair along Sardon's spine. It had no color or scent that Kujhade could detect but suddenly he felt extremely nauseous. His grip faltered as he leaned over to lift his mask and wretch onto the floor. This was the opening Sardon was hoping for. Managing to shake the big yautja from his back, Sardon was trying to catch his breath.

Kujhade was doubled over throwing up violently, the pain in his stomach debilitating. Now he understood how a yautja might fall to Sardon. His eyes watered as he caught a brief moment of clarity before Sardon was upon him, pummeling him mercilessly along his side and back. Projectile vomit or no, Kujhade couldn't let this thing kill him. Cutting through the roar of the crowd was Jasmine's distressed voice. He had to win this fight, and when he did he would present Jasmine the trophy. Replacing his mask, Kujhade managed to rise to his feet under the onslaught. His whip was still in his hand and he'd need to use it to kill this thing once and for all.

Kujhade got punched in the face and rolled with the punch, spinning around to face the gated dome. He leaped onto it, his stomach lurching and threatening to spill even more of its contents. Sardon smiled, thinking the yautja was trying to run away.

"Look, the coward is running from the might of Sardon!" He yelled in his own language, which Kujhade's mask roughly translated. Kujhade scoffed at the idea of running from any fight.

He crawled along the dome, just high enough to leap off with a flying dropkick right into his opponent's face. He dropped like a sack of potatoes to the floor, trying to shake the cobwebs from his head. Kujhade took the opportunity to quickly remove his boots. He then leaped onto the gate above his enemy. Once he got right above Sardon, Kujhade noticed an interesting thing. The big brute didn't seem to be able to lift his gaze upwards. He had a very thick, short neck and apparently it didn't allow certain ranges of motion.

"Now you will die," Kujhade said to no one in particular.

First though, his stomach wanted to make a last stand. Unlatching his mask again, Kujhade had to vomit again and most of it landed right on Sardon's head. Kujhade couldn't help a chuckle even in the midst of his protesting stomach. Letting go of the dome with his hands, and gripping it only with his feet, Kujhade snapped the whip downwards just as Sardon passed underneath him. It took two tries to get it to wrap around the alien's thick neck. Kujhade wasted no time leaping down and behind Sardon, careful this time not to actually get on his back anymore.

Sardon tried to turn around, but Kujhade stayed behind him, driving him into the side of the fighting cage repeatedly. Again Kujhade kicked his knees out, then pressed his foot to the back of Sardon's head. It pushed his face into the cage as Kujhade pulled back on the whip, but he wasn't dying fast enough for Kujhade's taste. In fact Sardon was struggling to get up when Kujhade decided to end it once and for all. Kujhade held both ends of the whip in one hand, and with the other reached into Sardon's back. He gave a mighty howl as Kujhade reached a clawed hand deeper into his back, piercing the thick flesh as warm blood gushed over his hand and arm. Sardon tried in vain to turn around, as he had a pretty good idea what was coming, but he was losing consciousness from lack of air, loss of blood, and mind altering pain. Underneath his mask Kujhade smiled, a ruthless humorless smile, as his hand found its mark. He wrapped it around Sardon's spine and yanked.

The whole area went silent except for the sound of Sardon gurgling in death, and the sick sound of rending flesh and breaking bones. Kujhade released his whip as he finished ripping the spine from the beast in one motion. When it was finally free of its body, Kujhade let loose a deafening roar of triumph. Mar'cte, Lijia, and a few other present yautja roared also in response to the death of one who was deemed a yautja killer. The other aliens present seemed to shrink back from them, as if they were afraid they would be next on the list. Three small worm-like aliens shuffled into the fighting pit. Two were tasked with hauling Sardon's dead husk away, and the other with washing the blood from the pit floor. Kujhade confiscated the water hose and turned it on himself to wash away the vomit, sweat, and blood.

After putting his boots back on, he then made his way out of the pit. His nausea had subsided, and it seemed as though the effect of whatever toxin Sardon was secreting was only temporary. He took a length of cord and tied the gruesome trophy to his back, ignoring the MC as he was announced the winner of the death match. Kujhade cut a line straight to Jasmine who was standing wide eyed, her heart pounding. She'd seen him hunt, but so far she had not witnessed him kill anything sentient since they'd left the clan ship.

He stopped short of touching her, not knowing how to read her expression or the scent she was giving off, which was a mixture of fear, anxiety, and weirdly some relief? She was looking at him, her eyes constantly drawn to the trophy on his back, which was dripping a pool of inky black blood on the floor behind him. Jasmine's mouth worked, but ultimately she was speechless. Mar'cte and Lijia congratulated him on his victory, not taking note of Jasmine's lack of real reaction in their excitement. Even the twins were making their best attempt at a roar, and reaching out for their sire. Kujhade reached out to cup Jasmine's chin, but she shied away just a little and cast her eyes downward. He didn't like that. Was she displeased for some reason? Did the sight of blood bother her? Surely that couldn't be the case considering she'd watched him kill before, and had made her own kills as well. Instead of going into it, he reached down and picked up Marcus who responded by closing his eyes tightly and trying to roar as loudly as possible. It came out as little more than a squeaky purring sound, which for whatever reason was hilarious. He laughed at himself and made the sound again, then watched to see if his father would also roar. Kujhade obliged, making Marcus crack up in his arms. His laughter sounded nearly identical to human baby laughing, and was the very first time either of the boys had done it.

Silently Jasmine gathered all the things she'd bought with Lijia carrying the most awkward packages. Kujhade stopped and handed Mar'cte and Lijia the twins. She placed them into the strollers and gave Kujhade a puzzled look.

"We still have not gathered everything we need. Would you look after them for a short time Lijia?" Kujhade asked, and she complied immediately.

Kujhade gathered all of the items and nodded for Jasmine to follow. They walked back to their ship in silence, with Jasmine casting little glances his way. Finally, they crossed the obscenely large hangar to the ship, going inside and putting all the things in a corner. Kujhade quickly placed the spine and skull in his trophy room for later cleaning, and went to freshen himself back up. Jasmine finished arranging the items to get them out of the way, then turned to go back to the door when Kujhade stepped into her path, blocking her from leaving.

"What is it?" He asked in a serious tone. She glanced up at him and crossed her arms in front of herself.

What was she supposed to say? She didn't really know how she was feeling. She knew who Kujhade was, what he was, what he did, and what he enjoyed doing. She'd seen him hunt and kill and come back bloodied, but as far as she knew the things he had killed so far hadn't been sentient beings. She didn't even really know what difference it truly made, but watching him rip the spine out of something still alive was like nothing she'd ever seen before. She kept her eyes down, and her arms crossed, and used one foot to kick around dirt that wasn't there.

"What is it?" He asked again, cupping her chin and this time she did not flinch away. Instead she smacked his chest.

"Why would you…? I mean, you could have died! I mean, I know every time you hunt you could die, but this wasn't even necessary! I mean I know you hunt because that's just what you do, but this was a death duel for sport Kujhade! DEATH DUEL FOR SPORT!" Jasmine said in a frustrated tone.

"There are some things you do not understand, and you may never come to understand my mate. I will never place myself in a position to lose my life in such a way when I have you and our sucklings to protect," Kujhade rumbled softly while caressing the side of her face.

"But that's just what you did 'Jhade. I don't know. Maybe I'm just overreacting or whatever. It's just that when you were in that cage, and he made you sick I thought… I thought he was gonna kill you," Jasmine said as she leaned against the wall, sulking.

"I survived, like I always do. I killed him, and I got the trophy for you. Do not be angry with me," he said, coming closer until he was pressed against her. He purred a little, and she couldn't help a little smile as she looked up at him.

"I'm not mad at you. I just couldn't take it if something happened to you Jhade," Jasmine said as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Did you like the fight? Did you see how I had him against the cage? He was dead after that and he knew it," Kujhade gloated, as she rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth a little.

"It was alright I guess," she teased. He opened his mandibles in shock.

"Alright? It was more than alright and I have the skull to prove it," he said puffing his chest out.

"Okay okay. I guess there was a little something sexy about you fighting….and winning. Just a little tiny bit," she said again, holding her fingers together just millimeters apart.

"Did you want me to survive so that I could do this?" Kujhade asked, his tone low. He reached down and grabbed a handful of right breast and squeezed.

"Jhadeeee, we gotta get back to the kids," Jasmine complained, squirming underneath his grip as he pressed even closer, his heat and mating musk overwhelming her senses.

"They are fine, well protected. Now, tell me if this is what you wanted?" He asked her again, squeezing her breast and moving his warm hand between her legs. She pressed them together, trapping his hand. She was both trying to enjoy and trying to get away from him. He grabbed both of her hands quickly into one of his, and pinned them above her head against the wall, and held them there. Her feet barely touched the floor at all.

"Now you can't act like you don't want me to do this," he rumbled, his purring vibrating through her body.

Jasmine closed her eyes and moaned. He pressed in, his tongue snaking to the crook of her neck as he nuzzled her. There was no need to take any clothing off, as her skirt was short enough for him to reach under it, or flip it up if he wanted. She was warm and beginning to become wet, the scent of her arousal intoxicating. He roughly undid the clasps of the leather top she wore, causing her breasts to spill out. He placed a large muscled thigh between her legs forcing them open, and then ground against her.

"Mmm, Jhade…" she exhaled breathlessly.

The sounds of the busy hangar and the bazaar filtered in through the ship's hull. She couldn't concentrate on it. Right now there was only her and Kujhade. It was just his thighs between her legs, his hand on her breast, and his warm breath on her throat. He had her pinned, helpless, and she loved every moment of it. She heard the dull clank of his metal codpiece falling to the floor, then the hot press of him against her. He rumbled, she shuddered against him. Kujhade took one leg, lifted it and entered her roughly. She sucked in a breath as she had to wrap her legs around him to have any balance at all. There was nothing but the sound of frenzied, desperate sex, his rough deep grunts and her lighter higher pitched ones, filling the air.

She was so incredibly tight all the time. Her walls clenched around him as she looked him directly in his eyes. Her breasts bounced wildly and he couldn't help bending to lick one of her nipples.

"Yes! Jhade!" She screamed. "Harder…. harder"

He growled and slammed himself inside of her. He reached down and found her clit, and flicked over it with the pad of his thumb. She clenched so hard her toes curled in her sneakers. She tossed her head back and forth as she screamed and came over and over.

"Fuck!" He screamed in his guttural voice, and released inside of her.

They were both breathing hard, the aftershocks of their orgasm working through them. Suddenly Jasmine laughed. Kujhade gave her a questioning look, then broke out into a smile himself.

"Nothing like fucking my brains out to celebrate a victory huh?" She laughed, still a little breathless. She still had her legs wrapped around him, and her arms wrapped around his neck. She started playing with his hair, and he grunted in response.

"I do not know that we have time to mate again, but later you will have to finish what you're starting," he said, nuzzling her again before pulling himself from her.

Smiling, she went to the bathing area to wash herself quickly before going back out again. When she noticed he didn't follow, she turned to beckon him.

"Not gonna join me?" She asked. Kujhade shook his head, and placed his codpiece back on.

"The other yautja males were watching you. They appeared to be confused on whether or not you were with me or Mar'cte. This will clear the confusion," he explained, then waited patiently by the ship's door for her.

"Oookay. I'm gonna just let you handle that however you want, and I'll be right out," she said, amused and slightly disgusted that he refused to wash himself after that.

* * *

In less than ten minutes, they were out of the ship and heading back to Mar'cte and Lijia. Leave it to Mar'cte to have immediately picked up on Jasmine's scent. He looked back and forth between the two. His mask was expressionless, but Jasmine knew he was making that shocked face he always made, followed by the sly look he gave every female he may have even been remotely interested in. When his gaze settled upon her, Jasmine swatted at him and blushed. Laughing at her, Mar'cte handed her Mili. She placed him back in his stroller as they continued gathering all the supplies they needed.

Behind them was a single yautja male who was keeping an eye on the albino who was now apparently ranked as Arbitrator. He'd come to settle an old score. It had taken him long enough to find this outcast male, but now that he was in sight he would never escape. The young yautja male was certain it was the albino he was looking for. Not only was Kujhade distinct, he was also with an ooman lou-dte kale just as the rumors said. The male shook his head in disgust, and continued to follow.

The shoulder to shoulder crowd parted as much as they physically could at Kujhade's coming. Jasmine watched the few yautja males as they passed. She wasn't sure if they'd been watching her before, but now they refused to look her way at all. It was loud, but she could distinctly hear low growls coming from Kujhade if they passed any male. She couldn't explain it, but somehow it gave her a very satisfied feeling. He was claiming her publicly to all and sundry, and it made her feel more secure in their relationship.

"So what are these sister?" Mar'cte asked, looking at the strollers curiously. Jasmine had also given them both rattles, something she would regret in the middle of the night.

"Strollers. We always put our babies in these back home when we go out, and we're gonna be gone all day. We do the slings too, but sometimes that's awkward when we're shopping or carrying something else," Jasmine said, as Mar'cte nodded his understanding.

The twins were baby talking to each other, as they carefully examined the toys in their hands. Mili was eating his and reporting his findings to his brother. Marcus was glaring at his intently as he turned it about in his little hands. Finally, he decided that he liked it after giving it a shake and finding that it made noise.

The young male following the small group made his way closer. It was risky, but he was tired of hanging back. The time was now or never. He shouldered his way through the crowd to the protest of many until he was right in front of Kujhade himself. Immediately Kujhade squared his shoulders, and took a huge arm and moved Jasmine behind him. She took the boys and stood back a few paces. Before them stood a strong young yautja male, dark brown and black mottling with only a very small streak of light or creamy coloring down his middle and around his thighs. He stood eye-to-eye with Kujhade and also had a similar build.

Mar'cte hung to the side, growling and clicking but otherwise content to let Kujhade fight his own battles. Kujhade and the young male both had their masks on, but it seemed that both held their collective breath. At last, the young intruder spoke.

"It has been a long time, but finally I found you," the male said. Kujhade simply regarded him a long time without saying anything at all.

"Why?" Kujhade asked, still not relaxing his stance at all. In fact, he had his hand near the handle of his whip.

"To restore my honor. I have had successful hunts, and have gathered worthy trophies, but yet I have earned nothing but suspicion and distrust."

"What have you done to gain distrust, and what does that have to do with me?" Kujhade asked gruffly. The young male grunted in frustration.

"I have done nothing! I am not trusted because of you, and I can only secure my honor and place if I kill you," he said, as he pulled his spear and lengthened it. He hit a fighting stance and stood ready.

Everyone around their immediate area stopped to watch what was shaping up to be another yautja fight to the death. Jasmine's heart started pounding again. If this is what it meant to be around a group of people, then she was glad they spent most of their time hurdling through space with the just the four of them. It seemed like there was literally a challenge going every few hours. She hoped like hell that somewhere in Kujhade's code of honor, it was allowed to decline or something. She just wanted to shop and hang out in peace.

"You earn your honor by observing the hunt as you should, taking mates, and siring pups to carry your bloodline. Killing me does none of those things for you. It only makes you a bad blood," Kujhade said, his voice calm and it was almost as if he were trying to appeal to the young male's sense of honor.

"There is only one way. I tried to leave you in my past, but I can't. Until you are dead I will not have any honor among my own clan," he said and stepped just a tiny bit closer.

"K'var, my son, you will not gain honor this way. There is only death this way," Kujhade said to the complete shock of Mar'cte, Lijia, and Jasmine.

Jasmine couldn't believe it. This was Kujhade's son, his oldest boy, and he was apparently here to kill his own father.

"Do not call me your son! You are no sire of mine! I will not be despised because of you, so today you will meet the black hunter!" K'var exclaimed.

Jasmine could almost see the imperceptible slump of Kujhade's shoulders, despite the fact that he had grabbed his whip. She took a deep breath, and strode forward before anyone could stop her. She got right in the middle of the two behemoths and stood looking from one to the other.

"Jasmine, get behind me. I will not have you getting hurt," Kujhade said. Mar'cte came to grab her but she slid out of the way. He would have grabbed her, but Kujhade shook his head.

"So, this is your son Jhade?" Jasmine asked sweetly, as if this were a family reunion and not a potential death match. K'var scoffed.

"Is this your mate, outcast?" K'var asked Kujhade with obvious disdain. Kujhade turned his head to regard Jasmine.

"This is my first pup, K'var. Now, get out of the way," he said, agitated that this was the second time now, and she still wasn't listening.

"You two don't need to be fighting, you just need to talk to each other. I bet you didn't know you had brothers," Jasmine said to the new male. She rushed over and got Marcus and brought him forward, ignoring Lijia's heavy protest.

"See? He's kind of colored like you too, now that I see it," Jasmine said. She knew this was stupid and dangerous, but she had to try to distract them from trying to fight. She didn't know that a fight could not now be avoided considering that K'var had already drawn and brandished his weapon.

He cast his gaze upon her and the suckling she was holding. For a moment she thought her little plan might have been working. That is until K'var barked a humorless laugh.

"Get out of my face you worthless lou-dte kale, and take that ridiculous, abominable half-breed with you. He is no brother of mine, and my "sire" is pathetic to have bedded his own prey. You are worthy of nothing except my spear in your back, and your skull on my wall," K'var growled out.

For a brief moment, Jasmine was speechless. Did she just get cursed out yautja style? Yes, as a matter of fact that's exactly what just happened. She was processing a slew of emotions, one after the other, not sure which one she felt more strongly. Was it embarrassment or anger? Her pride was hurt, as well as her feelings, but most of all she felt violent. She wanted to rip this one in half for talking about her family like that, but before she could process those thoughts within these few seconds, Kujhade had reached over to smack the mask off of K'var's face.

Just like that the fight was on, and she got out of the way as quickly as possible. For whatever reason K'var hadn't expected Kujhade to be on him so quickly, and he couldn't bring his weapon up fast enough. Kujhade had tackled the younger male to the floor, and began to deliver punch after punch to his face. He had not yet drawn his blades, for which K'var should have been thankful. Tired of being punched, K'var finally managed to get from underneath Kujhade, but it wasn't any better standing toe-to-toe. K'var extended his blades and Kujhade readied his whip, and they began to circle each other.

Jasmine began to cry silently as she watched them. Mar'cte gave her a reassuring nod, but she wasn't reassured at all. This was the second fight just today, and K'var was no Sardon. He roared at his father, who only watched him in return. Suddenly the very tip of the whip kissed the sides of K'var's face and two thin green lines appeared at the spot. It looked harmless and shallow until they all noticed that K'var could no longer move his lower left mandible properly. It hung loosely as if it were broken, and blood began to pour from the cut. He reached up absently to touch it, and finding it in less than perfect condition, seemed to fuel his fire. Roaring, he charged Kujhade who slid to the side and had K'var in a chokehold. It wasn't easy to hold him there. K'var was as large as his father, and also possessed Kujhade's indomitable will. He didn't want to be bested, and he had almost gotten out of the hold by using his weight to get Kujhade off balance. Youth was on K'var's side, but experience was on the side of the father. Kujhade began to bend his knees behind K'var while holding him in a headlock. K'var struggled mightily, but before long Kujhade tightened his grip and K'var was slipping into unconsciousness. When it was over, Kujhade took a moment to look over his son. He didn't bother to roar in victory. In this, there was little honor. The only thing good about any of it, was that he had defending the honor of his mate and children.

Carefully, Kujhade gathered K'var into his arms and lifted him over his shoulder. Without being told, Mar'cte picked up K'var's mask and spear as they all headed back to the ship. Jasmine was more than relieved. Kujhade was physically fine, and she didn't have to watch a spine be ripped from its moorings.

Mar'cte told Lijia and Jasmine to get the rest of the supplies they needed, and they went about making the necessary purchases and arrangements on their own. Mar'cte used K'var's gauntlet to locate his ship, and at Kujhade's behest, tethered it remotely to their own ship and set it on auto-pilot.

Mar'cte opened the ship and went inside. He took it upon himself to check all systems and start the engines. Once that was done he went to see about the new visitor, and found Kujhade placing K'var on the metal slab. Mar'cte quietly stood next to him.

"Do you think Setg'in sent him for you?" Mar'cte asked, knowing it was a long shot to even ask. Kujhade shook his head, never taking his eyes off of his oldest son.

"He hates Setg'in almost as much as he hates me," Kujhade answered, sighing deeply. Mar'cte grunted in acknowledgement of the fact. He had actually never laid eyes on Kujhade's son, and Kujhade never spoke much about him, only to say that he had a pup who disowned him.

Mar'cte stood a moment or two longer before making his exit. About twenty minutes later Jasmine and Lijia came back in with a major haul. The babies were fussing because they were hungry, they had all manner of food items, even more clothing for Jasmine and the babies, and things that Lijia understood the males to need specifically.

It took quite a while to settle in. Jasmine took time to feed the babies, managing to quiet them down. By that time they had all taken off and left the trading ship behind, starting the first leg of their long journey to Kujhade's home planet. The twins weren't sleep, but they were content now. Jasmine set up the bouncy seats for each child, provided them their rattles, and went to see about her husband.

Jasmine didn't like the vibe. It was somber as if K'var had been killed although she knew that was not so. It was all coming from Kujhade. He hadn't wanted to fight him at all, and it was obvious. He was still in the medical bay, standing over K'var and looking worried. Quietly Jasmine walked next to Kujhade and just rubbed his arm soothingly.

"It'll be alright baby, he'll come around," she said, meaning more than him coming back to consciousness. Kujhade cast her a worried glance, sighed, and placed a hand on K'var's arm.


	12. Mercy

Dteinou Thei-de sat at the console of her personal ship and went through all the video feeds. She'd narrowed it down from at least two weeks prior to Bakuub's death, and one week after. After not finding Setg'in on a single one of them, she decided to widen her search. She had to go back almost a full month before the fiasco that killed Bakuub and Yeyinde took place. It was only then she could see Setg'in, but it all seemed too normal and mundane. He wasn't doing anything incriminating, and that was the whole point. He was slick, she'd give him that.

Dteinou sat back in her seat, thinking. Her eyes were hurting now from hours of pouring over video after video, of everything from watching yautja's eat, to watching them try to mate those humans, and visiting one another. Dteinou took a drink of water and continued pouring through video feeds. She was sure that Setg'in was guilty somehow, but she had been sent to find out the truth of the entire matter, and more specifically about Yeyinde's demise. A legitimate fight to the death between Setg'in and Bakuub should not have involved anyone else, but that was just the crux of the matter. Setg'in repeatedly stated how it wasn't just a simple matter, because Kujhade the outcast had complicated it with his actions. She'd been so wrapped up in the certainty of Setg'in's guilt she had not truly given Kujhade a good look. She decided to do so now.

There was no better place to start than the beginning, so she isolated Kujhade in every feed starting when the human woman arrived. There was no sound to the video, so Dteinou was content to watch everything happen in double time. She saw the albino choose the female and bring her to his quarters. According to the timestamps, it was days before she had been allowed to leave the confines of his living space. She saw the male take the human female, who was absolutely diminutive under him, into the pillow room and leave without her. He'd gone to Bakuub and come back to the human girl. He appeared to be searching for something, and apparently he'd found it in one of the storage areas.

Dteinou sat back in her seat. She'd seen that room when she ordered Setg'in to give her a tour of every area the humans were allowed to be. There were large containers that were almost barren now. They held all kinds of items specific to humans, and not much of it was left. She shook her head at how quickly that situation seemed to have deteriorated. She resumed watching the feed, and found something quite interesting. Kujhade came out of that area with two human women, one of which was his mate. He disappeared into his quarters and that ended that day. With one upper mandible twitching in thought, Dteinou went back to see just how the little females got in that place. She saw them both go into the storage area, and then a little while later a yautja male entered upon them. Dteinou Thei-de zoomed in on this new individual.

Name: U'darajhe (287 Cycles)

Clan: Thei-de H'chak

Rank: Bad Blood

Status: Deceased

Now that was interesting as hell. How did he get that little title and who killed him for it?

It was quick work singling out this bad blood. He'd followed the women in, and had come out some time after Kujhade, looking battered. Dteinou sat back in her seat again. Absently she grabbed a single tendril and twirled the end in her talons. It would have been considered quite a girly thing to do had any human seen her do it. This was interesting and something that Setg'in had failed to mention. He had spoken briefly of U'darajhe, but it was nothing significant. In fact, Dteinou couldn't even remember what he'd said about this yautja. She started to resume the feed, but her encryption device sounded, alerting her that someone was trying to hack into it, or disable it. Quickly she shut down all communication retrieval and removed her device. She'd chosen to do this part of her investigation in a secretive manner, just in case Setg'in got any bright ideas about wiping important information from the database. He may have already done that, but it was still worth looking over.

She rose to her feet, stretching her long limbs and exiting her ship. She needed to have a word with T'chnde about the integrity of the database. He was in charge of archiving all intercommunication for the entire ship. That included basically monitoring all the public areas of the ship, not unlike having security footage which could be retrieved at any time. She felt strongly that something had been tampered with, and she also wanted to know who had attempted to block her snooping around.

On her way through the ship to its lower quadrant, where the archived feeds were stored, she passed a hall which lead to the pillow room. Normally the women could not be seen unless one entered the room, but this time Dteinou spotted one of the oomans. She was of fair skin, which was bruised in many places. Her clothes were scant, her skin dirty, and her hair lank. She was thin well beyond good health, and she was giving off the pungent scent of illness and pending death.

"Tommie, Madison…Hailey…." The woman was mumbling. She was trudging slowly down the hall, leaning all her weight upon the wall as she moved aimlessly forward. A slick red trail of blood was left along wall in her wake.

Dteinou moved silently behind her, trying to decipher the words being said, as they were barely audible even with her superior hearing.

"Tommie, Madison….Ha-ailey," the woman was struggling to speak. Dteinou noticed the bloody footsteps left by the woman, and also where it was coming from. Dteinou's upper mandibles clicked audibly on anger. The woman was bleeding profusely from between her legs, and the blood was very fresh.

At the sound of Dteinou's clicking, the woman stopped short. She struggled to turn around, ready to face a new tormentor. She looked up at Dteinou Thei-de, her eyes empty and sunken into her face, dark circles surrounding them. The expression of fear seemed permanently etched across her features.

"Please….." the woman begged, as she reached out to touch Dteinou, who backed away slightly.

"P-please k-k-kill meeee," she begged moving towards Dteinou slowly but relentlessly. She was begging for death. At that moment, Dteinou felt sorry for the pathetic creature. What misery had been visited upon her to make her beg for death like this? Then, she looked down at the bloody mess running between the woman's legs, and understood it.

No male, yautja or otherwise, would ever dare forcibly mate a yautja female. It was nigh impossible to do, and on the extremely rare occasion that it did happen, it was usually a premature female as the victim. While not quite still considered a child, a premature female was simply one incapable of birthing pups. They were physically adults for the most part, just not ready for mating of any kind, and only the sickest of bad bloods even attempted such things.

"Please…kill me….I'm begging…begging," the woman said crumbling before Dteinou and stretched forth her neck, offering it to be cut.

Dteinou extended her wrist blades, ready to oblige the request until she saw something clutched in the woman's hand. She reached down to pluck it from the woman, whose eyes became round and misted with tears for it being taken from her. She reached feebly for it, letting out a choked sob.

Dteinou looked briefly at the miserable woman, then at the item she'd gotten from her. It was a photograph. It showed four people, one of them the woman before her. In the photo she was young and beautiful, her reddish hair blowing in the wind. She had one girl child on her hip who looked to be no more than about four or five years old. Another girl child was standing in front of her, not paying attention to the camera as she played with some toy. She seemed to be a little older than the one on the mother's hip. Finally, there was an adult male, tall and strong looking whom Dteinou assumed to be the woman's mate. So, a family. This woman had been part of a family. She had a mate and two pups whom she would never see again.

The female hunter kneeled down before the woman again, and placed the worn picture back into the woman's hand, who took it and held it to her chest, mumbling what had to be the names of her family members.

"If you wish to be with your mate and pups, I cannot provide that. However, if you truly wish to be released from your miserable existence, then I am ready to grant it, but first you must tell me your name" Dteinou said softly to the woman.

She looked up at this predator who was obviously a female. The woman's lip trembled as she tried not to break down completely before answering the question.

"Leah, my name is Leah," she said as she looked at Dteinou hopefully, then extended her neck once again while clutching the photo for dear life.

"Leah, you may not have been allowed to live in honor here, but you have died in honor here," Dteinou said, and slid the wrist blade into the base of Leah's skull rather than brutally decapitate her.

Almost with a last sigh playing upon her lips, then woman sagged against Dteinou, still clutching the picture in a final death grip. She thought briefly about taking the woman's skull as a trophy. The woman was not a warrior, but she would have rather died than live under the tyranny of this situation, and that was a warrior's spirit. Carefully, Dteinou reached a hand just under the wound she'd made, and retrieved the skull. She placed it in a sack she carried around for just such purposes, and stood up straight. She called some servants to come get the body, with the order that she not be further mutilated or experimented on.

She then turned her sights on the pillow room and the other women inside, who may need the same treatment. The archived footage would have to wait. She made her way to it, and observed the occupants. They were in similar shape to Leah. As before, some were rocking and holding themselves, some were staring off into space, and some seemed more or less mentally present and accounted for. As she stood in the doorway, all eyes slowly turned towards her. Dteinou extended her wrist blades again, and cast her eyes on the first woman to be released from her prison.

* * *

K'var stared silently at his so-called father standing sentinel at the edge of the metal slab. He was surprised to find that he had not been restrained. The fool trusted him not to kill him. K'var sat up and continued to stare at Kujhade as he stood there in full armor with his weapon. So maybe he didn't trust him that much. Good.

"If you still wish to try to kill me, we may settle this now and your skull will be on my wall, but I would prefer you talk to me instead," Kujhade said, his tone even and emotionless.

K'var recalled the brief fight that landed him unconscious apparently, and rushed up to reclaim his honor. He attacked Kujhade, but his sire was ready for that. K'var got punched in the face, but that didn't deter the attack at all. They traded blow for blow without pulling any weapons.

Outside in the common area, the sounds of vicious fighting reached Jasmine who became immediately alarmed. She got up from feeding Marcus to rush over to the door, but was stopped by Mar'cte.

"No, sister. You must let Kujhade deal with this alone. There isn't anything for you to do but get yourself hurt or killed," he said, holding her back. She turned to him and cried a little in his chest. Jasmine then pleaded to Mar'cte.

"You go in and stop them! Please!" Jazzy begged, but Mar'cte shook his head, as he held her tightly.

"No Jasmine. No one should interfere. This is only between him and his son, they have to settle this alone," he explained, trying to get her to understand.

"But, they'll kill each other in there Mar'cte," she said in a small voice, resigning herself to the fact that she was helpless in this case. Kujhade was right when he said there were things she didn't understand, and might never understand.

Just then Marcus began to cry from hunger. She gently tore herself away from Mar'cte's embrace to go to her son, who was in his bouncy seat swatting the line of toys in his frustration. Jasmine gathered him in her arms and fed him before he could reawaken his brother.

Inside the medical bay it was a good thing that all the important tools and medicines were tucked safely behind the wall panels. The two yaujta's fought bitterly, with K'var intent on really harming his father. Kujhade hadn't had this kind of good challenge for quite a while. It wasn't something that he wanted to be doing. He wanted to speak with his son whom he had not seen nor heard of since before the boy's chiva. He wanted to know about his hunts, wanted to see his trophies, learn if he had any pups of his own yet. Yet, this is what they were doing; a pointless fight which he hoped wouldn't end in death for either of them.

K'var fought well, but he didn't have as much fighting experience and it showed in some of the rasher decisions he was making. He kept rushing in, and letting his frustration and anger control him. He came in, and Kujhade sidestepped him and grabbed his son by the neck. He gained control with a full nelson lock as K'var struggled to get out of it.

"If you calm yourself, we can discuss this," Kujhade said to his son. K'var was hearing none of it. He didn't need to talk about anything, he needed to get rid of the one yautja who was becoming the bane of his existence.

"No," K'var choked out and then stomped Kujhade's bare feet, and delivered several elbows to his sides and ribs until Kujhade loosened his hold.

After letting go, Kujhade had to block the blows reigning down upon him. He weathered the storm until K'var reached for his knife. At that, Kujhade extended his wrist blades and quickly covered the short distance to his son. Kujhade had tackled him with one had wrapped firmly around K'var's throat, and the blades pressed underneath his jaw.

"We can fight if that is what you desire, but I will not allow you to kill me on my own ship no less. I have two pups and a life mate here, and I do not intend to leave them alone. So, we will speak or it will be you who meets the Black Hunter this day. Make your choice K'var," Kujhade said smoothly.

A long while passed as his son glared at him, but finally he began to relax. Eventually Kujhade let him go, and K'var managed to sit up on the metal cot. Kujhade resumed his post by the door and waited for K'var to speak, and finally he did.

"What made you want to mate your prey? That's disgusting. Humans are pathetic and weak," K'var said, meaning to get a rise out of his sire. It didn't work.

"Her name is Jasmine, and she is not my prey. She was given to me as a gift, and we have accepted each other as life mates," he answered, the tone in his voice one of patience when dealing with an unruly child.

"Disgusting. Where is my ship?!" He asked, suddenly alarmed. Kujhade waved away his concern.

"It's been tethered to this ship. You'll find it following us. When you are ready to leave it will be ready," Kujhade reassured. Reluctantly K'var relaxed.

Why hadn't Kujhade killed him yet? He had already attacked with intent to kill twice, and had been defeated twice. This was cause enough to he killed yet, it had not happened. Could it be true that one of the best hunters could actually be this soft and weak? Maybe it was the influence of the ooman he was mating? Perhaps. K'var shook his head in disbelief.

"Why are you so eager to kill me? Who has sent you to do this?" Kujhade asked, done with the useless chit chat.

"No one has sent me. I am mocked, outcast, and females have not presented themselves to me. It is because you are my sire that this is happening to me, and if I kill you they will have no cause to treat me in that manner," K'var explained. Kujhade stared at him for a while before a loud trilling laughter rang out in the small space. His shoulders shook with it, and it only served to make his son uneasy and angry.

"Killing me will remove one problem and replace it with another pup. Killing me will make you a bad blood and then some other arbitrator will come along to see that your head is separated from your body. I don't want to see that happen K'var," Kujhade stated.

"What do you care about it? What I become is my own business, not yours!" K'var said, standing up suddenly and squaring his shoulders.

"If that were so you would live your life, regardless of the way your clan treats you, and you would not be here blaming me for your own problems," Kujhade said evenly.

At that his son's shoulders slumped and he seemed to simply deflate. Just then there was a knock on the door. Kujhade opened it and then blocked the entrance. It was Jasmine, holding Marcus in her arms. He was whimpering and Kujhade became alarmed at the sight of a small runnel of blood on his little arm.

"What happened?! Is he alright?!" Kujhade exclaimed, but Jasmine simply smiled and shrugged off his concern.

"It's nothing. He and Mili were playing and Mili bit him too hard. Just so you know Marcus tried his best to hit him back, so your sons already like to fight," Jasmine said, laughing a little but trying unsuccessfully to look past Kujhade into the room.

He looked more closely at his son's arm. As Jasmine had said, it wasn't that bad at all. Nothing more than a slight flesh wound. Kujhade grabbed Marcus out of her arms and disappeared back into the medical bay, closing the door behind him.

K'var wanted to ignore the pup in Kujhade's arms, not wanting to see a hybrid yautja. Kujhade had to come close in order to get the bit of salve for Marcus. K'var was surprised that his sire wasn't more apprehensive to bring his pup near, but he should not have been. He knew that he was no bad blood, and Kujhade knew that as well, so instead of being unnecessarily obtuse, he decided to take a look at the small pup.

Marcus was whimpering and waving his arm in his father's face. When he saw K'var he tried to get to him as well. Pretty much he wanted to get to anyone that could make the boo-boo go away. It took only a few moments to get a bit of salve to cover and disinfect the small wound. Afterwards, Marcus was ready to play again. He had his rattle in his hand, which everyone was realizing he would never put down. He put it in his mouth, and then with a long line of slob connecting from his mouth to the rattle, tried to give it to K'var. His older brother turned his head with a growl, which Marcus tried to mimic. When K'var growled louder, so did Marcus, then followed by laughing and kicking.

"Get that thing away from me outcast," K'var growled. Kujhade ignored him as he continued to tend to and play with Marcus.

He lifted Marcus and nuzzled his small crown. In response, Marcus furrowed his little brow in an effort to force the very slob-ridden rattle past his father's tusks. He lightly beat it against Kujhade's mouth, but his sire laughed instead. Marcus grunted in frustration before finally "forcing" the rattle into Kujhade's mouth. Pleased at his success, Marcus cooed loudly at his father before reaching a small hand to graze Kujhade's jaw. Kujhade brought him near his chest and held him there as he walked out of the medical bay. When he came back in he grabbed K'var by his throat with both hands and squeezed tightly as he spoke.

"I am your elder and your sire and you will address me as Kujhade, not outcast. I have no wish to kill you, but I will do exactly that the next time you disrespect either myself or my family, and that includes everyone on this ship. Blink if you understand," Kujhade demanded.

The fury in K'var's eyes was unmistakable but he did indeed blink his understanding of the terms presented. Kujhade released him, watching as his son gasped and sputtered to catch his breath. Without any more talk, Kujhade left the medical bay with K'var inside. He took a seat at the ship's controls to make sure that they had not veered from their flight path back to Yaut Prime. Kujhade was glad to see Jasmine too occupied with the twins to stop and ask questions. He just needed time to think how he would adjust to his oldest son suddenly in his life. Kujhade looked around briefly, and thought to himself that before long he would need a bigger ship to house all of them comfortably. He creased his brow as he looked out into space. He wondered what else they would encounter along the way, and how all of this would turn out. He heard the familiar ring of Jasmine's laughter as she played with the boys. It did wonders to calm the nerves that were building inside him. He heard it again and his shoulders relaxed. Everything would be fine. He boosted the engines and watched the stars blur by.


	13. Answers

Nia had been on her knees in front of one yautja or another since they'd all gotten there. Usually it was for sexual purposes, as once the males found out the human females could please them with their mouths as well, it had been a common demand. This one was a female, and even though she was on her knees, Nia was begging for her life and this female seemed prepared to let her keep it.

Dteinou had killed all but three females in that room. She had not taken any other trophies, and the deaths were all through the consent or request of the females themselves. This one however, seemed to be in better overall health than the others, and did not look to be so willing to be liberated.

Dteinou sheathed her blades. This was not a hunt; it was mercy killing. Mercy killings were done with permission or when it could not be any other way. This was different, and as she watched the human ask for her life to be spared the wheels began to turn in her head. This one was in better shape than the rest, which could only mean that she was favored among the women. If she was favored among the women, then she was potentially useful. Dteinou grabbed the woman and stood her up. Nia dusted herself off, wondering if she was out of the woods yet.

"Thanks I guess?" Nia asked to a stone faced Dteinou. "Ookaay, I guess no thanks then."

"The name's Nia. And you are…?" Nia said extending her hand for a shake.

Dteinou looked at the hand then back up into her face.

"It's a handshake, it's alright, just trying to get acquainted that's all," Nia stated with a smile.

Dteinou understood the gesture perfectly. She had hunted in what the humans called America, and the gesture of handshaking was common, although it didn't seem as sincere as the yautja customary shoulder push. In any case she declined to do it.

"So it may not be any of my business, but the way I figure it I don't have shit else going for me, so I'll ask. Are you trying to get to the bottom of all that shit that happened, that nobody is supposed to know happened?" Nia, asked Dteinou who gave the human a curious look. Yes, she was right to have spared this one.

"I am the matriarch's chief enforcer, and I will get to the truth of the matter, but what does that have to do with you?" She asked. Now she would see if this Nia knew anything worth troubling about.

"Well for one I hate that slimy fucking puto Setg'in or whatever the fuck his name is. My sister is gone and I know he had something to do with that," Nia stated, her face and voice taking on a quality Dteinou could not readily discern.

"How do you know?" Dteinou asked.

"Shit, fuck you mean how I know? That motherfucker told me so, right after he started coming here making me fuck him," Nia said angrily. This was absolutely perfect.

"How did he know it was your sister?" The enforcer asked.

"We're fucking twins. She looks just like me, short, kinda thick, Puerto Rican, only she dyed her hair blonde and I didn't," Nia said, her eyes shifting as she tried not to show any real emotion about it.

Dteinou regarded the small but feisty human. She could only imagine what she had endured, yet she still had a fighting spirit. Dteinou admired this. It was rare that a human displayed such quality, and on top of that she seemed to know information that might prove beneficial.

"Come with me Nia, and tell me all that you know," Dteinou said, turning to leave before Nia grabbed her arm.

"I'll help you, but you gotta do something for me mamacita. You have to help me find my sister," Nia said, and Dteinou could read a small portion of the desperation in her eyes.

"I swear an oath that I will help you find your sister, but I cannot promise she is still alive," she told the human. Nia considered this for a moment.

"I know you can't promise all that, but I at least need to know something, if it's nothing except to find out she's dead, or she's never coming back. I just need closure. Do you understand that?" Nia asked, and for the first time in a while her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

"Sei-i," Dteinou said, although it was only partially true.

She understood wanting to know what happened, what humans termed as closure, but it had never driven her to go out of her way or place herself in any danger. This would be dangerous and most likely a sad end for Nia, as her sister was probably dead or suffering an even worse fate.

"Come now, there is much to do," Dteinou said as they both exited the pillow room.

* * *

Setg'in had been watching the whole thing. It was just appalling that this bitch really had the gall to come on this ship and just do whatever the hell she wanted. To just go into that room and mercy kill all those humans as if she gave a damn was just ridiculous. That goody two shoes, no mate having, no pup birthing, bitch!

He got up from the console in his personal living quarters. It was the only place that high and mighty lou-dte kale wouldn't come into without invite. He strolled over to the pit and the wonderful thing inside.

"Come to me Sssetg'in, Anara will do away with her in due time," Anara the Shirxa tried to reassure. She beckoned him with the end of her tail, which rattled slightly.

"It must be quick and it must be quiet. She had gotten herself an ally in Nia the human woman. She doesn't know much, but she serves no further purpose to me, so she can be killed without issue. As a matter of fact I will kill the ooman, you just worry about Dteinou Thei-de. She is deadly, and will not be easily taken down," Setg'in said to Anara as he slid into bed with her. She promptly coiled herself around him like an oversized boa constrictor.

"Even the mighty yautja are no match for my ssseduction and ssstare, Sssetg'in. Ssshe will fall prey my love," Anara said seductively, as her long snake-like tongue grazed his neck and lower jaw.

"Do not be so cocky, and not all of us are vulnerable," Setg'in said, as she coiled a little tighter around his body.

"You are vulnerable to me," she said, pinning him with an intense green-eyed glare. He almost became mesmerized.

Good thing she was using that trick only to get him more in the mood, and not turn him to stone. He really wanted to be in the mood too, and he was trying. He rubbed her smooth scales, and tried to lose himself in her oddly pretty face, but he couldn't. Too much was going on, and none of it was going his way. Turok had gone and not come back, which meant he was dead. If he was dead, that meant Kujhade had more than likely got information out of him, and that was more dangerous than anything. Setg'in had plotted and planned, and in his arrogance had not counted on Kujhade and that little worthless ooman female to make themselves such a nuisance. He believed that if he had pinned everything on Kujhade, that he wouldn't have to work so hard. After all, it wasn't so farfetched to believe that finally his ostracism from the clan had driven him to the point of madness, and he'd lashed out. The main thing that ruined all of that was his son Bhu'ja and moving way too early. He'd killed Yeyinde, and that is what brought the shitstorm known as Dteinou into the picture. Dteinou. Just thinking about her caused very violent emotions, and Setg'in had to sit up, easily untangling himself from Anara's coils.

"Do not worry Sssetg'in. All will be made right once we get rid of the female. Then you will have the peace you dessserve," Anara said, trying to comfort him.

"But firsssst," she whispered, as she coiled gently around him once more. This time he was able to let himself go.

* * *

Kujhade had been so preoccupied with the bazaar and the situation with his son, that he hadn't paid attention to Jasmine and all the things she had acquired. He stood and really took inventory of it. Useless, all of it. More importantly, it took up a good portion of the room, despite the fact that she had very neatly organized it. He couldn't make heads or tails of it, but all of it was human items of some use or another. Just then Mar'cte sidled up to him and took a look over everything himself. They both stood there, arms crossed over their chests.

"What is all of this stuff Kujhade?" Mar'cte asked. Kujhade shook his head.

"I have no idea Mar'cte. It's just, stuff. She claims this is mostly for the pups, but they have no need for any of it. We have everything they need. She feeds them from her breasts, we hunt for whatever else they may require," Kujhade said, still shaking his head in disbelief.

"How much did all of this cost?" Mar'cte asked, knowing that he was probably stirring the hornet's nest. Kujhade's eyes almost fell out of his head. He hadn't even realized that it might actually have cost quite a bit.

"She didn't even give it back did she?" Mar'cte asked, starting to chuckle. Kujhade patted himself, then closed his eyes in realization.

"No, she did not. Stop laughing!" Kujhade roared, then had to laugh at himself.

"What are you two in here snickering about?" Jasmine asked, as she came up to them, bouncing a cooing Mili in her arms.

They had wandered over to the stack of items, pointing out things and laughing at them. Kujhade had a handful of Onesies, trying to make sense of why she needed them, and Mar'cte had a pacifier in his mouth, and a ring teether which he was wearing like a bracelet.

"Neither of my pups need any of this stuff Jasmine. What is it? Just human items that no one requires," Kujhade said, as he looked at the baby toys, clothes, and all kinds of bottles.

With a hand on her hip, and an incredulous look on her face, she marched over to the stacks of baby things.

"That, is a pacifier for Marcus, because he doesn't always drink the milk when he nurses. Sometimes he just gnaws at me, so that's what that's for," she said as she snatched it out of Mar'cte's mouth.

"And THAT, is baby lotion, and some baby soap to wash them with. Stop pouring it out Kujhade!" she yelled as she tried to grab the bottle from him. He was too fast and held it up over his head, although he had stopped pouring it out.

"Sister, these things are pointless. What purpose do they serve?" Mar'cte asked as he picked up the bottle of baby powder, which she promptly snatched from him.

"Don't worry about it. It's stuff I need to take care of my babies with, if you don't fucking mind," she said, getting annoyed by their constant laughing and giggling.

"No, you didn't need any of these things Jasmine. They had all that they needed," Kujhade reiterated, to a Jasmine who was becoming less and less amused.

"Whatever. I don't have to explain myself to either of you jackasses. They can't just have only yautja things. I'm their mom, and they have to have stuff I want them to have, because they're human too. So fuck you, and fuck you!" Jasmine said flipping both of them the bird and storming off into her old closet room, which was now slowly turning into the twin's room. Both stunned yautja simply stared after her.

"She's your life mate," Mar'cte said wryly. Kujhade answered only with a single chuff.

From behind the medical bay door, K'var listened. That ooman had gotten a sharp tongue, and needed to be handled, but his weak father had allowed it anyway. How could that really be his sire? If the ooman pet had belonged to him, she would have known her place well and never have spoken to him unless called upon to do so. He didn't even know why he was still lingering here. Kujhade had let him know that he was not a prisoner, and was free to leave at any time, yet he remained.

K'var leaned back against the door, and folded his arms over his chest. One of those damnable pups was crying, and finally the ooman woman had put a stop to it. He shook his head, and strolled back over to the cot to take a seat. He needed answers. All his life he had heard that his sire was an outcast, and that at any time he was expected to become a bad blood. Many rumors swirled about, all of them proving to be false, but this latest was the most heinous by far. It was said that he had killed Bakuub, and the Old Hunter, and fled the scene. It was said that he had finally lost his mind, but the yautja K'var had met and tried to kill did not seem out of his mind at all. In fact, he had spared his life twice, and was here now with a ooman and two pups whom he seemed to be kind towards. He seemed honorable, but if that were true why was he running halfway across the galaxies instead of defending his own honor? Something was wrong here, and K'var decided that, that was why he was still hanging around. He needed answers, and only by speaking with Kujhade, could he ever hope to find them.

* * *

T'chnde gawked at the human female standing next to Dteinou. Nia looked around the room they were in. It was a small room built just for its purpose. Virtual screens covered the walls on three sides of the room, with a large chair in the middle, and an even larger yautja standing next to it.

"She's not allowed here. In fact, none of them are allowed anywhere on the ship except their own mating quarters," he said to Dteinou.

"She is with me. Now, I am here to speak to you about …."

"The ship's security feeds, I know. I was wondering when you would find your way here," T'chnde interrupted.

"If you knew, why did you wait? Why not contact me immediately?" Dteinou asked, annoyed that she would have to pursue information that should have been offered willingly.

"Come now enforcer, do you think I would bring the wrath of Setg'in down on my head needlessly?" He said, with a click of his tusks. Dteinou shrugged. She guessed he was right.

"What do you have?" She asked, stepping closer. Nia was right behind her. She was also interested to see exactly what had been wiped from the footage.

"Not long before Setg'in returned from his "trip", a single yautja boarded us," T'chnde began, pulling up the images in question.

"That in and of itself is not strange, and I would not have paid any attention to it except for what happened. It was all supposed to be very secretive, but the Old Hunter was killed and none of us took that lightly," he explained as he pulled further footage of Yeyinde's battle. Dteinou had asked for this footage, and Setg'in had given her an excuse for not having it.

"Here you can see Yeyinde fighting fiercely, honorably. You can also see this is the same yautja who boarded the ship earlier. Who he is, I have not been able to piece together, but I would not be surprised if he had ties to Setg'in somehow," T'chande said as Dteinou looked over the video. There was a piece of the puzzle that was eluding her, one that should be obvious but it simply would not make itself known.

"How long was Setg'in off this ship T'chnde?" She asked as she began copying everything she needed.

"According to the feeds, about a month or so," he replied

"That's about when Tia went missing," Nia said almost to herself. She had been standing quietly, but watching and listening to everything. Both yautja's gave her a questioning look.

"My sister, Tia. She went missing about that time. See, when we first got here one of your men took her along with another woman. He used to bring her down to see me almost every day. She said despite how sex crazed he was, that he was nice to her. Then we had that whole transformation thing happening, and we all had to go to like, prison or whatever. We was let out, but Tia was gone. She came in with us but…." Nia was explaining before being interrupted.

"Human, slow down. You are speaking nonsense to me, what transformation? What prison do you speak of?" Dteinou asked as she whirled around towards the small woman. Nia took a step back and brought her hands up defenisively.

"Yes, explain it. I never got the full story on what happened there. It was just something about some hard meats," T'chnde chimed in, much to the consternation of Dteinou, who wasn't liking how any of this was shaping up.

"Start from the beginning and tell us all that you know Nia, and do not leave a single detail," Dteinou demanded. Nia took a deep breath and told all that she knew.

Her sister had been taken along with another woman as a mate by one of the warriors. She was allowed to visit with her in the pillow room. Nia, then explained the scare about turning into a monster, and how it had all started with a single female. Some of the women who were abducted were lesbians, and when they weren't entertaining the males on the ship, they were spending time with each other. Nia told them that she wasn't opposed to what she called 'girl time', but that it was something very weird about the one woman who she named Cassie.

"Now, I was down for all of that cause y'all screw good, but y'all can't lick me up, ya know what I'm saying? So anyway, I was gonna do it, but a couple of other girls beat me to it. Then it was like weird and shit, cause the bitches… I mean the women she had sex with started getting a little sick or sumthin, know what I'm saying?" Nia said, pausing to make sure the two aliens had kept up with that she'd said.

"What is this licking that you accuse yautja males of being unable to do?" T'chnde asked, stepping forward to possibly defend their collective male pride. It earned him a low warning growl from Dteinou, and a giggle from Nia. Dteinou twirled her finger, _keep going and hurry up_.

"It's okay…. Okay I can't pronounce your name so you jus' gonna be D. Anyways, it's okay D if he wanna try it cause he got pretty eyes, but if you bite me Imma whoop ya ass!" Nia said.

Dteinou closed her eyes and grumbled loudly. This human was too easily distracted, and she wondered if she shouldn't have simply killed her, if for no reason except rid the ship of such a nuisance. T'chnde moved as if to take the human up on her offer, but he was blocked by a clawed hand on his crotch. He purred his approval.

"Cease that purring T'chnde, I have not touched you for mating. I have touched you because if you distract this human any more than what has already happened, I will take this with me as a trophy," she warned as she gripped him tighter. It should have been a heavy threat, but T'chnde only purred again.

"If you really have wanted this after all these years, it need not be a trophy," he said smoothly which earned an all-out laugh from Nia.

"Oh you gotta admit it D, he got you on that one, and plus he got game too!" Nia said, laughing at T'chnde's antics and Dteinou's discomfort at the sexual innuendos. She quickly snatched her hand away, and motioned for Nia to continue the story.

"Human, finish the story and make it quick. I grow impatient," Dteinou said in her authoritative voice. All giggling and laughing stopped immediately.

"How were the women sick?" Dteinou asked, getting the conversation back on track.

"I dunno, they was just like, sick. After she had sex with like four or five of them Cassie disappeared for about two days or so. Then Tiger got sick, and we had to kill her," Nia stated, dropping a bombshell on the two yautja.

"Sick how? Explain it clearly!" Dteinou demanded again.

"Okay, okay! I don't know how to explain it alright, but in the middle of the night we heard like some weird ass noises coming from Tiger's room. Me and two other women knocked on the door, and when she didn't say nothing we went in. Then I saw the scariest shit I have ever fucking seen, I swear. Tiger was on the floor, wet, and shaking. She came out of some kind of cocoon or some shit, like a fuckin horror movie. Well, we got scared as hell cause it was Tiger, but not really. She looked all funny with a big ass head, and she started growling, so we jumped that bitch before she could get up," Nia said, looking from one to the other.

"I know what she is speaking about Dteinou Thei-de. We had a strange outbreak of kiande amedha, but like none we have ever seen. There were no eggs, and there were no chest bursters," T'chnde tried to explain to a thoroughly perplexed enforcer.

"One of the females actually became some form of hard meat, and somehow induced a few of the other women to do the same. Bakuub made this public knowledge although you knew the council would have wanted to keep that a secret. We never knew about what this human just said, that there was one among them that they killed. However, one of our young bloods was attacked and killed while patrolling the ship's lower quadrant, as our bio-scan was down at that time," T'chnde said, then he closed his eyes and smacked a large hand on his own crest.

"I am so pauk-de ignorant! Why didn't I connect these things before?! I have been watching these feeds for so long, that I filter out mundane things and search only for familiar threats. Please forgive me Dteinou. Had I been more watchful I would have been able to see things coming, rather than wait until they have already taken place," he said with slumped shoulders, and downcast eyes. Dteinou gave his shoulder a gentle shake.

"It is alright T'chnde. It was not your job to prevent this massacre, it was Bakuub's job. He failed and it cost him his life, but there was something wrong with all of this. I will need every piece of footage you have, and every audio conversation recorded by Bakuub, Setg'in, the Old Hunter, and Kujhade," she asked as T'chnde dutifully gathered all that she had requested.

"Nia, we will look at these together. You will fill in any missing information you may be aware of. We need to prove either Kujhade's innocence, or Setg'in's guilt, and you will help me do this. We may even find clues about your sister's fate," she said, turning towards Nia, who gave her a solemn nod. Then her brow furrowed a bit.

"Ain't Kujhade the big white one?" Nia asked suddenly.

"Yes, what do you know of him?" Dteinou asked, whirling around again and this time grabbing Nia by her shoulders.

"All I know is that he was with that bitch Jasmine. They was tight too, walking around here like they fucking loved each other, it made my damn stomach turn. Really it made all the women mad, cause we was all just doing what we had to do to survive, but Jasmine? That bitch liked him. I mean she really wanted to be with him like a real couple, like he was a man. She was a traitor to us, and we turned our back on her for that," Nia said, a hard look in her eyes at the memory.

"Why is she a bad blood among you? Just for falling in love with a renowned hunter?" Dteinou asked, as she finally let Nia go.

"I mean, yeah. Look, you guys aren't as bad as people say, but y'all still hunt us for a fucking sport, and ain't nobody forgot that shit. I'll fuck your men cause I have to, but I would never, ever love one of you fucking putos," Nia spit out, then wondered what her outburst would cost her.

"The feeling is mutual human. I find it unreasonable for one of our males to life mate a human, but it is not unlawful. I agree with you, why a human would desire to be life mated to one of us willingly is puzzling," she said, thinking over it when T'chnde handed her a very small chip.

"This is all the data that I have, both public and what Setg'in ordered me to remove and have destroyed. I removed them, but my loyalties are with the clan and the matriarch, so I never got rid of any of it, but if he catches you with it, my life is forfeit so be careful," he warned as she graciously took the chip and turned to leave.

"And Dteinou Thei-de," he called after her. He then gently grabbed her hand in his, a risky thing to do after all this time. She looked at the hand, but did not pull it away.

"When you are done here and return to the matriarch take me with you. I do not wish to be here anymore, and it has been too long since I have seen a face as beautiful as your own," he said gently, eliciting another small giggle from Nia. She could have sworn the hardened female hunter blushed at the obvious come on.

"I will take you back to Yaut Prime if you wish it, now I must take my leave T'chnde," she said, but he gripped her hand a little longer before letting it go.

He watched after them as they left, and hoped with every fiber of his being that she would unravel the mystery surrounding Setg'in's rise to the clan leader position.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all who have favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. Chandra! Where have you been miss thang?! I missed you! I really appreciate all of the love and support that I've received from this fandom. It really has been keeping me going more than you know. Love y'all!**


	14. Honeytrap

It was quiet. K'var finally came out of the medical room to go to the restroom. He made quick work of that, only to find himself extremely hungry. Quickly and quietly K'var made his way to the supplies. He found plenty of meats and fruits, and welcomed himself to it. The meats and fruits were very tasty. He had been hunting for food before ending up at the trading post, but he hadn't been very successful. He hadn't chosen good hunting ground and food had been scarce. K'var was hungry, but he still made sure not to eat too much.

With a satisfied stomach, he decided to take a look around. He made his way to the main console needing to charge his mask, but the sight in the pit stopped him in his tracks. In the sleeping pit was Kujhade and his ooman mate. He was on his back and the small ooman was curled under his arm and halfway on his chest. She was sleeping soundly, but he noticed Kujhade's eyes sparkling in the dim lighting. Instinctively he grabbed Jasmine closer, to which her response was to snuggle more into his intense body heat.

"I don't want her," K'var answered defensively. Kujhade said nothing, and after a while he realized his sire had fallen back to sleep, or at least it seemed so.

He watched the couple for a few moments more, thinking about how he had been shunned this past mating season by a wonderfully beautiful and strong female, who chose to mate a weaker male in K'var's opinion. He didn't want a life mate, but this was the first time he had gathered enough notoriety as a hunter to even be considered for mating. With a huff he turned his head and looked out into the passing stars. He stared out into space for a while, his mind restless. He was ready to talk now, but it was obviously the wrong time for it. Then a thought struck his mind. He turned to watch Kujhade, and after he was satisfied that his sire was truly asleep, K'var made his way to the trophy room.

He would finally see what his sire was made of. If you wanted to know who a yautja was, and what they were all about, the one place to find it was their trophy room. How many trophies, what condition they were kept in, and what kind they were all told an intricate tale about the hunter who owned them. With rising anticipation, K'var entered the room and was thoroughly impressed in spite of himself. On the wall were a few hard meat queen crests. So many other skulls decorated the walls, all of them kept in pristine conditions. They gleamed and shone nicely in the dimmed light, and the mist gave just the right ambience. All of them had little or no damage, a very difficult thing to make sure of in the heat of a hunt and the midst of a kill. He wanted to touch them, but that was a huge social faux pas among the yautja. You never touched another hunter's trophies unless you were a female and he was mating you. The amount of human skulls was impressive as well, and K'var wondered how his ooman mate had handled seeing them. It wasn't really possible that he hadn't shown them to her. He shrugged it off. It was more likely she was too afraid to speak against it. However, he left the trophy room with a newfound respect for Kujhade. If his trophy room was any indication, Kujhade was indeed the exceptional hunter that everyone said he was. There were a lot of ugly rumors that spread about him, but his prowess as a hunter was never in question.

When he left the trophy room he had expected to be confronted about going there uninvited, but the couple was still asleep. He was about to make his way back to his de facto bedroom, when he passed the small room to the side. A low mewling sound floated to him from the darkened room, and he knew this was where those pups were. He snarled a bit and started to ignore it, until the sounds came a little stronger. Curiosity got the better of him and he made his way into the small room. Over to the side of the far wall was a small little pit where the two pups were kept. K'var came in and kneeled to get a better look. He had been refusing to see them, but now that no one was looking he gave in to his nosiness. He reached a large clawed hand and moved a fur to the side to reveal Mili. K'var snorted and recoiled at the site. They had not killed it. He was completely confused. It must have been the ooman female's fault. She must have had an undue influence on Kujhade, and somehow convinced him and the other yautja around her not to fulfill their custom for this kind of thing.

As K'var looked Mili over, he wondered at just how much this suckling looked like Kujhade. Humans didn't think of yautja as having familial resemblance, but they did and K'var didn't want to see it, but saw just how much he and these sucklings resembled each other. Marcus was soundly asleep but Mili was excited to see someone new. He cooed, then tried to reach for K'var. His legs were starting to get into motion as his excitement started to build. He was very ready to play, but aside from that he was kind of whining because he was awake. Not wanting the suckling to wake his brother or anyone else, K'var awkwardly tried to pat him back to sleep but it didn't work. It only made Mili do his strange mix of cooing and whining even more.

Slowly Jasmine was roused from her sleep by Mili. She knew it was him because his voice was a little higher pitched than Marcus'. Sleepily, she pried herself from Kujhade's arms, and then stumbled to the room where her babies slept.

"Emilio, what is the matter little man?" She asked, still wiping her eyes and coming into the room. She stopped short to quickly assess the sight.

K'var was crouched over Mili, and looking back over his shoulder suspiciously. Jasmine snapped into action. She rushed over and immediately tried to push K'var away from her kids.

"What the fuck?! Move!" She yelled as she pushed against the solid mass that was K'var.

He didn't take kindly at all to a human touching him unbidden, let alone aggressively pushing him. She was lucky he wasn't in too bad of a mood. He roared at her and stood to his full height, towering over her. His golden eyes glistened in the dim room, as he moved into her personal space. In doing so he had blocked her from Mili who was now crying in earnest after having been frightened by the sudden roar.

"Don't touch me, prey!" K'var yelled right into Jasmine's face.

"You don't fucking scare me! Move so I can get to my damn babies! And what the fuck was you doing in here anyway?!" Jasmine yelled again, trying her best to get around him. She tried to push past him again, and purely out of a sense of superiority K'var blocked her.

"You're so pathetic, you and the rest of your kind," he growled out to her. Jasmine narrowed her eyes and set her jaw.

"You better get the fuck out of my way K'var before Kujhade…" she started, but was interrupted by the one yautja that she feared to witness this little exchange. It couldn't have been helped. The babies were wailing at this point, and K'var had roared as loudly as possible, so there was no way Kujhade could have ignored the commotion.

"Kujhade is here, and I see that you have already forgotten what I have told you pup," Kujhade said as his wrist blades slid slowly from their housing.

Wide eyed because she understood immediately that this would not end well, Jasmine stepped between the two.

"Now listen Kujhade, he didn't mean anything by it okay. It's alright baby, I've got it under control," she tried, but the look in Kujhade's eyes was dangerous.

"Jasmine, I will only say this once. Move out of the way, and attend our pups," he said, and his tone absolutely brooked no argument.

Every New Yorker, black woman, and American bone in Jasmine's body wanted to talk back, to have a rebuttal, but her mouth worked silently. She had not heard him use that kind of final tone with her since the day he shook by the throat, and told her she belonged to him. He had given her lots of leeway to have a smart mouth, but disobedience in this matter would not go well for her. She would encounter a different side of Kujhade, and she didn't want to change the color of their relationship just because she couldn't keep her mouth shut. So Jasmine turned in the cramped space towards her children, only to find K'var still standing in her way. She gave him a contemptuous glare before having to brush past him to get to her boys.

"I said don't touch me!" K'var roared and backhanded Jasmine.

All she remembered was hitting the wall hard, and then a roar, and then it all went black.

* * *

She was disturbed more than anything now. Dteinou Thei-de and Nia had been up many hours poring over video after video. Nia had filled in quite a bit of information, and it left Dteinou in deep thought. It seemed that Nia's sister had indeed been taken off the clan ship by Setg'in, and that U'darajhe had left with him. Her sister had apparently been one of the two mates chosen by a young yautja names Mar'cte, who was also apparently one of Kujhade's best friends. Nia had been right about Kujhade and his human mate. Surveillance revealed that after the imprisonment, they were always together except when Kujhade was off to hunt, or called to listen to some official order. It was odd and somewhat fascinating to her that the human seemed all too willing to be in Kujhade's company. Unlike the other females, this one appeared to truly like this yautja male, and the feeling was mutual even on the video. His posture was relaxed when they were alone, and tensed when among other males. He kept a protective arm around her, and was ready to fight over her at any time. He had even gone so far as to take up guard when she was held prisoner. It was uncanny, this level of devotion from one of their males to a non-yautja female.

She had much to do that day. First, she kept Nia with her. The human seemed to have a penchant for trouble and Dteinou didn't want her getting herself killed. Also, she needed to stay out of Setg'in's grasp at any cost. Dteinou had not seen or spoken to him since accosting him after his failed attempt at having her killed, which only meant that he was somewhere plotting something.

The next thing was that Dteinou needed to pay the doctors on the ship a little visit. On one of the feeds, she saw one yautja guard retrieve Nia's sister and the other woman with her. He escorted them to the doctor and after having them looked over, escorted them to a secluded area near the ship's hangar. From there the video is cut short, and when it resumed the two women were gone from the spot. It didn't take much to the connect the dots, because Setg'in's ship was also missing which gave Dteinou the best start to a proper timeline of events.

Dteinou was silently making her way to the large medical bay of the ship. Nia was trailing behind her asking a million questions, to which Dteinou was giving only one word answers.

"Do all the females hunt too, like the guys?"

"No."

"Are you really like 9 feet tall?"

"Yes."

"Do you have babies or like a family back home?"

"….No."

"Are there like a whole lot of clan ships like this one?"

"Yes."

"You gonna fuck Setg'in up when you catch him in all his fucking lies?"

"Absolutely."

It went on like that the entire time they were headed towards the medical bay. When they got there, Dteinou silenced yet another meaningless inquiry with a raised hand.

"When we get inside I want you to be quiet. Do not speak to anyone, and do not touch anything. I have work to do, and will not tolerate your distraction. Do you understand?" Dteinou asked, looking down at the frowning human.

"Yeah, aight. Don't touch nothing, don't say shit. Got it, damn," Nia, said begrudgingly agreeing to shut her mouth. Something she'd had trouble doing since she was a little girl.

Nodding her head, Dteinou turned and entered the bay with Nia obediently behind her. It took a while for her to find the head doctor, but eventually she found him leaving the attendance of a young yautja who had been severely injured during one of his hunts.

"I need to speak with you," Dteinou said very simply, and waited for him to comply. He only gave her a snort and turned as if to ignore her.

"I am Dteinou Thei-de, enforcer for the Matriarch and I would not ignore me if I were you," she warned. He snapped around and glared up at her.

"No. What you are is a troublemaker, enforcer or not Dteinou Thei-de. Setg'in is ruthless, and when you are done wreaking havoc on all of us with your "investigation" of him, it is the rest of us who will suffer the consequences of your actions," he said, jabbing a clawed finger at her midsection. Not surprisingly, she grabbed the offending digit and bent it painfully backwards without breaking it.

"If you are this cowardly, then I fully understand why being a doctor is your only way to honor. It remains that we need to speak. Where shall we go? Or would you like me to break your fingers to make you more compliant, then I question you here in front of everyone?" Dteinou threatened casually. Nia stared in awe. She was originally from Chicago so she'd seen her fair share of badasses, but Dteinou was something straight out of a Hollywood action flick.

"Alright, alright," the doctor agreed. She let him go and he quickly led her and Nia to a secluded room. His shuffling gait was making an odd cadence on the grated metal. Nia then noticed that not only was he uncharacteristically short at a little under six feet, but his foot was twisted inward a little which gave him his distinctive walk.

Once they were all alone in the room, the doctor simply waited on the questions. He was looking from the enforcer to the human, and he also seemed quite apprehensive about the whole affair.

"Less than a year ago, these two human females were brought to you. Why?" Dteinou asked, as she brought up the images of two women on her gauntlet. His eyes went to the images, but his expression didn't seem to change at all.

"I don't remember that. I look after too many humans since Bakuub brought those wretched things on board," he said as he seemed to be disgusted about it. Dteinou clicked her tusks impatiently.

"Setg'in will be the least of your problems if you insist on lying to me. What was the purpose of checking them, and who gave the exact order for it?" She asked again, and this time his eye shifted uncertainly.

"Listen, I was simply asked to make sure they were of passable health. There was a…health scare concerning the humans, and I was ordered to make sure that those two didn't suffer from it," he said, and then seemed to sigh as if he was happy to unburden himself of that information.

"Where were they to be sold?" She asked, him although it was almost a pointless question.

"I do not know. I wasn't told of any selling," he answered quickly. Dteinou studied his face for a moment before seeming to accept his answer. She turned to leave with Nia behind her when he said something else.

"Enforcer,"

Dteinou turned to hear what he had to say.

"You might want to check certain parts of this ship. When we examined the Old Hunter's wounds we found traces of Shirxa poison. I believe this is why he was defeated so soundly," the doctor offered. Dteinou gave him a hard stare, but there was a contemplative air about it.

"Shirxa poison? Are you absolutely sure about that?" She asked. She had wondered why he seemed to never stop bleeding on that video. Now it made more sense.

"No other toxin which we know of, does what it does and leaves such a trace behind. Unlike other being with toxins as a defense, the Shirxa leave a great amount of DNA behind with it. I am absolutely certain," he offered.

"I will be on the lookout. Thank you for cooperating with me," she said as she and Nia left the medical bay.

They took an elevator down to the main floor, then they headed down lower until they were almost to T'chnde and the security room. Once they got to the doorway T'chnde opened it for them and welcomed them inside.

"Nia, I am going to do a few rounds on the ship. I will be back shortly, but I need you to stay here for a moment. T'chnde will not let any harm come to you. Will you T'chnde?" She asked him with almost a sweet tone of voice. His chest swelled at her tone, and her apparent trust of him with the human.

"Dteinou, anything you ask is yours if I can provide it. I will take care of the human for you," he said and wrapped a large arm around Nia's shoulder.

"Hey, don't be gone long D. I know it might sound silly coming from me but, just be careful alright?" Nia said, to a surprised Dteinou. She wanted to ask why the human was showing interest in her well-being, but dismissed it as probably her way of repaying the sparing of her life.

"I will take heed of your warning human," she replied, and then turned to make a quick check of the ship.

When she stepped out of the room she knew exactly where she was headed. If the tip she was given had any merit, then the first place to look would be the ship's prison. Maybe there was a Shrixa there and maybe not, but Dteinou was almost certain she would find something incriminating there.

As determined as she was to get to the bottom of things, even an enforcer had to eat. She made a detour to the mess hall and took a seat by herself. The unblooded male youth who served her did so quickly and efficiently. She ate lightly, just a small piece of meat and a side of fruits. No one dared approach her, and instead moved out of her way as she strode through the ever-present crowd. When she was done with her quick meal, she wasted no time heading towards the prison area.

As expected there was no one present. The lights were on, but it was eerily quiet as nothing could be heard but the very faint hum of the ship's several thrusters. It was a fairly large rounded room with several cells. One by one Dteinou opened each one. She wasn't looking for anything in particular, although she thought she'd know it when she saw it. She hadn't quite believed there would be a real live Shirxa on board. Their home planet was on the outer edges of a star system the yautja rarely visited for lack of viable prey. As a race, the Shirxa were off limits for hunting, and even Setg'in couldn't be so stupid as to actually have one present, alive or dead.

She had almost looked into every cell, and hadn't found anything, until she thought she heard a very faint rattling sound. Dteinou stood still as a statue, her muscles tensed as she listened intently to everything around her. To make sure, she switched the vision on her mask so that she could read heat signatures through the wall. Her jaw dropped. Behind the wall of a nearby cell door, was the silhouette of a very rare being. Could it be an actual Shirxa? She hadn't seen one in real life for many years, back when she was an arbitrator and had to execute a yautja who had illegally enslaved one and killed it.

Carefully, she inched towards the door purring as she pressed the panel to open it. Shirxa were dangerous when startled, and Dteinou had no desire to see which part of their alleged offensive capabilities were truth or myth. She didn't want to have to put it down, accidentally or in self-defense. They were precious and even in her high ranking position she would be heavily questioned if one died at her hands. When the door finally slid open, the Shirxa lay coiled in the middle of the floor. Not only was she alive, she was an adult. Dteinou could tell by the large number of coils, that this one had to be more than thirty feet from the crown of her head to the tip of her tail. She looked haggard, and worn out as she had been battered. At Dteinou's sudden presence, her tail rattled a warning to which the enforcer replied by upping the ante on her purring. This seemed to at least somewhat settle the large reptilian alien, as she leaned down on her arms and began to crawl slowly in Dteinou's direction.

Kneeling down with her arms stretched out in a semi-defensive position, Dteinou continued to purr while watching the alien move slowly towards her.

"It is alright, I will save you," Dteinou said as the Shirxa looked at her hopefully, then cast her eyes down. Even the serpents that served as her hair were downcast.

"Sssetg'in," she whispered as she inched ever forward. Dteinou tried to keep her distance, but if she wanted to help the poor creature, she would have to grab hold of her eventually. She didn't even seem as if she could slither properly.

"Is Setg'in keeping you here?" Dteinou asked, a righteous anger rising like heat in her belly.

"Yesssss," the Shirxa answered as she nodded her head a little. She was almost in Dteinou's personal space. Crouched down to be more or less eye level with the serpent woman, Dteinou inched closer herself, and made as if to help the Shirxa by lifting some of her bulk.

"Did he hurt you?" The yautja female asked, and to her surprise the serpent shook her head no.

"No, but he wanted me to hurt you!" The Shirxa said as she suddenly spit a copious amount of venom in Dteinou's face.

Completely caught off guard, the yautja female fell backwards and quickly tried to scramble to her feet, but they felt like cement blocks. Her vision was blurred, but began to clear as the Shirxa hovered high above her. She tried to reach for her sword, but found to her horror that her arm would not move. She could not even roar her anger and fury, as her voice seemed to catch in her throat as it felt like it was closing up on her. Dteinou had a hard time breathing, as her whole body seemed to become heavier and she was unable to do more than blink her eyes, and even that was a difficult task.

Total paralysis. Anara had not turned Dteinou's physical body to actual stone, but she may as well have done it. Infuriatingly, Dteinou's other senses worked just fine. She could see, she could hear and understand, and later to her great disappointment she would realize she could feel. For now, Anara swayed back and forth above her, her laughter a taunt. Illegal or not, if she could have, Dteinou would have cut her in two without a second thought.

"You are a fool female hunter," Anara said with a grin. Just then another shadow cast itself over the helpless hunter.

"Yes, you are a pauk'de fool, but you'll pay for it won't you? Can't talk? That's fine by me. You won't need to speak at all for what I'm about to do to you. All you'll need to do is be able to scream, and I will enjoy that very much," Setg'in said silkily to her.

Suddenly she felt herself handled roughly as she felt something tied around her hands and feet. He straddled her body and smiled as he placed the equivalent of a leash around her neck.

"Oh you are angry aren't you Dteinou? I can see it in your eyes. If you could take my head off, you would," he said as he caressed the side of her face.

She wanted to flinch away, or better yet to kill him but she could do absolutely nothing. He smiled again and tightened the knot of the leash which he made out of the unbreakable cable they all carried as part of their normal repertoire of weapons and tools. In fact, that was what he had managed to tie her up with instead of the magnetic cuffs which took two hands to operate. Any good yautja could tie knots with their cable with one hand.

"Anara, please relieve the good enforcer here of all her weapons and armor. We don't want her getting any ideas later," He directed as he stepped to the side.

"Yesss, my love," Anara answered and swiftly got all of Dteinou's weapons and armor off. She even stripped her naked to make sure there were no hidden weapons of any kind.

My love?! So this was all a trap, and who had led her here? Why, the good doctor had given her a tip, and she had come here looking. As soon as she got out, and she vowed that she would get out, that doctor was dead. So was this Shirxa, and most of all Setg'in. The investigation was officially over now. What he had done to obtain his position was irrelevant. He was eligible to be killed now based solely off his actions this day, and she would make sure he paid dearly for humiliating her in this way. Any questions about his bad blood status were all answered. It was as she had suspected long ago.

He yanked on the leash he had made, hauling her to her feet briefly, just so he could sling her over his shoulder. She wanted to cry out, but it only came out as a small choked sound. She couldn't see anything but the floor, and his feet and just behind him the slithering body of the Shirxa. They walked and walked. They were already in the bowels of the ship so they were headed upwards. She noted that there was no one else present. She didn't hear, or sense, or see anyone else as they trekked up. Dteinou felt weary, but she refused to allow herself to sleep. She did not know the nature of the venom and so was afraid she would not wake if she slipped into unconsciousness.

Eventually, after long minutes passed they must have reached his destination. It was deathly quiet. She was slammed down on a metal slab and then hoisted with her arms above her head, to a standing position. Her feet were tied to the floor, so that she was almost in a spread eagle position, with her knees bent so that she was eye-level with Setg'in. He stepped into her field of vision, so close she could feel his breath on her face.

"We are in the uppermost part of the ship. This used to be the old medical bay until it was moved. No one comes here, and there will be no one to ever come here but us," he said smoothly as he enjoyed every moment of her discomfort.

"Anara, please," he asked as he motioned the Shirxa towards her.

The reptilian got very close to Dteinou's face and almost seemed to nuzzle her affectionately. Two of the small serpents on her head bit her simultaneously on either side of her throat. She swayed back to observe her handiwork, then smiled briefly as she slithered back. Almost immediately, Dteinou could feel the new venom coursing through her veins. She thought for sure it was meant to kill her, but she felt feeling come back to her limbs instead. She twitched a mandible, then a finger, and as soon as she could she roared loud and long, her extreme fury enough to make any foe quake in fear, but when she was done Setg'in only laughed at her.

"I thought you might be feeling something like that, but rest assured no one can hear it. So you are free to do that as much as you like, and believe me when I say you will be doing a lot of that," he said as he once again caressed the side of her face. This time she bit at his hand, and just missed his fingers.

He snatched his hand away, and his earlier expression of self-satisfied pleasure was replaced by a hard look. It was full of hatred and contempt. He slapped her hard across the face several times until one of her tusks was broken, and the blood seeped from her mouth. Dteinou struggled mightily against her restraints, but it was a futile effort. The cable was unbreakable and could withstand stress and weight many times its own. It could only be cut by one of their blades or untied, and she could do neither.

"I swear to Paya, that I will kill you Setg'in. I will kill you and that treacherous Shirxa. I will…" she said but was cut short by Setg'in who struck her again, then grabbed her face roughly in his large hand, preventing her from speaking.

"You will do nothing of the sort, you bitch! You've caused me enough trouble and you will suffer tremendously for it, I promise you!" He said striking her again across the face, then punching her in the stomach a couple of times for good measure.

When he looked into her battered face again, he wasn't surprised to see a defiant glare in her eyes. He shook his head and laughed again.

"You have such an indomitable will, but that will only make it worse. All your honor, and adherence to the warrior's code will do nothing but hurt you from now until your miserable death," he said as he casually walked out of the old medical room, leaving her alone and in the darkness.


	15. Broken Pieces

He had never thought about just how damn strong Kujhade really was. Good thing he was no slouch in the strength department, because it was taking everything Mar'cte had just to hold Kujhade's arm back. It would have been the killing blow, and K'var had not even been fighting back or resisting. Kujhade had him completely submitted underneath him on the floor, beaten and bloodied, and waiting only to die at his sire's hands.

"Release me Mar'cte! I have vowed to kill him if he so much as spoke a disrespectful word, and he has dared to strike her! My life mate! My wife!" Kujhade said as he stared in K'var's eyes. The beaten yautja looked apologetic as he waited for his fate.

"I know that brother, but he is your pup, your progeny. My sister wouldn't want this, she didn't even want you fighting to begin with," Mar'cte pleaded with his brother, and in truth, his new clan leader. It happened so smoothly that it was nearly imperceptible, but Kujhade had really become the clan leader to this hodge-podge collection of yautja, a human, and two pups. It was due to the realization that Mar'cte did what he did next.

"Brother, if you wish to kill anyone, kill me in his place," Mar'cte said. It made Kujhade at least turn towards him with a shocked look upon his face.

"I am asking you to spare his life as Jasmine is not dead. If she dies, I offer my life in lieu of K'var because it is I who begs for his life to be spared now. I do this so that the honor of your word is kept in any case…. Clan leader," Mar'cte said and bowed his head low in total respect. Lijia, who had been watching from the door as she was unable to get past the fighting males to get to Jasmine, kneeled in respect also, bowing her head low as well.

Kujhade was taken aback. He had never expected Mar'cte or Lijia to formally accept him as their clan leader. He hadn't given it much thought either way. As far as he was concerned it was just his family with him, the ones who out of all others had accepted him for who he was rather than judged him for what he appeared to be. It softened his resolve. Slowly he rose to his feet, and grabbed Mar'cte up as well to face him.

"I accept your intent, but I do not accept your terms brother. I would never kill you in place of anyone," Kujhade said as he affectionately grabbed hold of one of Mar'cte's shoulders and shook it gently.

He turned towards K'var with a snarl. He was laying there looking pitiful. The pups were absolutely going ballistic at all the commotion, to the point where they were losing their little voices. Kujhade was coming down now out of the fog of his extreme anger to really absorb what was happening. Jasmine still lay in a heap, unmoving with her head tilted at an unnatural angle. Her heat signature registered, but she was clearly unconscious. He hauled K'var to his feet. K'var howled in pain as he did so. Several of his ribs had been broken, as well the hand he'd hit Jasmine with. His face was a bloody mess and a tusk was also broken, but he would live.

"If she dies I will find you and kill you. Call your ship and get out!" Kujhade growled at the defeated yautja.

K'var nodded meekly and stumbled out of the room. Lijia rushed in and tried to grab the pups first, but Kujhade directed her to Jasmine.

"I have the sucklings, you make sure she is alright," he instructed.

Lijia went over to check Jasmine, then finally gathered her up and carried her to the medical bay to be examined. Kujhade went to finally quiet his pups, picking them up and cuddling them close to his chest. He released a powerful purr which steadily worked to calm them. Slowly their crying turned into purrs of their own as they curled up in their father's arms. Marcus cried so hard that he'd thrown up all over himself and his sky blue onesie, the little embroidered bear covered in regurgitated milk.

Kujhade followed Lijia into the medical bay, while Mar'cte made sure that K'var's ship docked properly so that he could get into it. He'd found K'var in a heap of his own having passed out from the vicious beating he'd just received. Mar'cte sighed heavily, knowing that he would have to drag this yautja to his ship, and place him in his medical bay. Why he was taking pity, he didn't know but it didn't feel right just leaving him to possibly succumb to his injuries.

As Kujhade watched Jasmine's limp body be handled, all he could think about was the sound she made as she hit the wall. He struggled not to get angry all over again, and find K'var to beat him some more. When Lijia turned Jasmine to the side in order to prep her for the diagnosis and medical treatment, he could see blood on the back of her head, and a bit of it trickling out of her nose.

"Will she be alright Lijia? Will she go into the long sleep?" Kujhade asked pensively as Lijia prepared the metal cot. Lowering from the ceiling was a dome like structure that covered the entire cot. It was capable of performing extensive surgery, administering medicine, and life support for a limited time if needed. Lijia quickly attuned it to the appropriate settings for human physiology, and then stood back next to Kujhade.

"She might not go into the long sleep, but she won't be waking up tonight. In a moment it will tell me if she has any permanent or serious damage to her brain," Lijia informed as she clicked her mandibles in thought. "They are such soft creatures, anything can hurt or kill them. It's a wonder she has lived this long," she mused to herself.

Kujhade said nothing as he walked over to lay a hand on the clear dome. He watched the screens on the front display in his own language, as it diagnosed every one of her systems, and read her vitals. The machine completed it after several minutes, and Lijia stepped up to view the readings. She studied them, then clicked and shook her head. Quickly, she began inputting instructions, as she rushed around the pod setting up for what appeared to be an operation. With the sucklings now relatively calmed, Kujhade went to lay them down. He came back in to find Lijia gathering medical supplies and attaching tubes and medicine to the pod.

"What is it? Lijia?!" Kujhade asked, alarmed at how she was hurrying around and clicking her concern.

"Her neck was broken when she hit the wall. She is technically now paralyzed from the neck down, but if I hurry to begin this operation she will recover completely," Lijia said, as she made sure everything was perfectly in place.

"Paya has blessed her to be with us now. Human medicine is primitive, and she would have suffered the rest of her life crippled had she been on Earth, but I have to hurry," she said, finally stepping back to observe the process as it began.

"You can heal her Lijia?" Kujhade asked, looking intently at the female doctor as if she had better tell him what he wanted to hear or else. Lijia overlooked it. She knew he was simply concerned over his life mate.

"I am one of the best in my field. She will be fine inside of a few weeks," Lijia said, as Kujhade nodded his head solemnly.

They watched as small needles and robotic finger-like protrusions, began the operation. Jasmine had been turned over on her stomach, and one mechanical arm was holding a gauze like material to the back of her head to stop the bleeding. The other 'hands' had made a small incision at the base of her skull and began to repair the spinal cord, and surrounding vertebrae. The image of the actual procedure played out on a holographic screen just above the medical pod itself.

"You should attend the pups. This will take some time, but it will be successful," she called over her shoulder as she had stepped back up to the pod to direct the surgical procedure.

Silently, Kujhade took his leave only to run into Mar'cte who was on his way to see about Jasmine.

"How is my sister clan leader?" He said lowering his eyes a bit in deference to Kujhade's acknowledged position. Kujhade himself still felt a little odd about this behavior but dismissed it for now.

"Her neck was broken, but Lijia has assured me that it can be fixed. For K'var's sake I hope that is true," he said as he watched Mar'cte's eyes grow big with concern for Jasmine.

Kujhade could see that Jasmine had a profound effect on not only himself, but the other two yautja she'd been around for these last few months. Mar'cte cared for her as his clan sister, and that was a high honor and represented a deep love among their kind. For the second time this night Mar'cte had surprised and touched Kujhade. Unknowingly he had solidified himself even more as Kujhade's brother, and there would be nothing now that Kujhade would not do for him.

"Where is my so called pup?" Kujhade asked stoically. He was trying to be emotionless, but Mar'cte knew his brother. It was simply a matter of keeping his word which had Kujhade on the verge of killing K'var. It wasn't coming from a desire to see him dead for the sake of killing him.

"I placed him inside his own medical pod. I set it to heal him, but I couldn't undock his ship. He has a passcode and I couldn't override it to access his mainframe, so he's stuck here with us," Mar'cte said. He could see Kujhade was less than pleased about that, but there was really nothing to be done.

"See to it that he cannot come back inside this ship. I don't want to see his pauk'de face!" Kujhade commanded, then went into the room with his sucklings and closed the door behind him.

* * *

T'chnde had been quite hospitable. He'd gone to get them both some much needed food and water. Nia hadn't eaten a proper meal on any consistent basis since Setg'in had taken over. They were both in front of the screens, T'chnde looking on one wall, while Nia watched the screens on the other. They ate in companionable silence like old friends who didn't need to entertain each other anymore to be content in each other's presence.

Nia had never spent too long outside the confines of the pillowed room. She watched in fascination the everyday doings of the alien race which held her captive. They were nothing but hunters and warriors. Everything they did revolved in some way around the hunt. They constantly trained and fought, which she found to be rather entertaining and sort of sexy. The mess hall was always crowded and they seemed to be having a grand old time in there. All of that was wonderful, but she was looking for Dteinou.

She found her in the mess hall, then she left and made her way around the ship. It was hard to keep up with the various screens, but when she found Dteinou again she was in the prison area. Nia recognized that place big time, but there was something very strange there. When she recognized just what the hell she was looking at, Nia spit her water all over the wall in front of her.

"What the fuck?!" Nia shouted in shock, causing T'chnde to whirl around in his chair to take a look.

"What is it human?" He asked trying to follow her line of sight. When he did, he spat out his own mouth full of water. Some of it sprayed on Nia, but she didn't even notice.

"It can't be…" T'chnde whispered to himself. Nia was shaking her head in disbelief as well.

"A Shirxa? Here on this ship? How?" He rambled off the questions right after another. Nia turned her head to him, but was drawn back to the thing before her.

"I don't know what a Shirxa is, but this thing is a Medusa," she said, her voice full of wonder and a bit of fear also.

"Humans also know of these creatures Nia?" T'chnde asked, also not taking his eyes off of the creature in the video.

"I mean yeah, but they aren't supposed to exist. I mean they are part of Greek mythology. It's a Medusa. A woman cursed by one of the gods to become a serpent who with only a stare could turn all men to stone, but we learn this in school as fake. No one of modern times believes it to be true at all, but I mean she's right here. She looks just like the pictures too. Oh, this is so messed up," Nia spoke in hushed tones. She didn't know whether or not to be excited, or frightened, or what. If a medusa was no longer a myth, what the hell else actually existed?

Their eyes were glued to the screen when they saw it attack Dteinou, who only seemed to be trying to help it.

"No!" T'chnde bellowed as they both witnessed the Shirxa attack Dteinou and then the worst possible thing happened. Setg'in arrived and was tying her up, clearly intending to kill her, but instead managed to carry her away.

They sat in shocked silence, Nia with her hand over the mouth and eyes wide above them. T'chnde was next to her, the rage pulsing off of him as he watched, muscles twitching.

"T'chnde we gotta do something! We can't let him kill her!" Nia screamed, getting up and starting to leave out before T'chnde grabbed her by the arm and stopped her.

"Yes, we need to do something but a direct challenge to Setg'in will only get all of us killed. We have to do things quietly. He's going to kill her eventually, but I believe we have a small bit of time," he said, studying the screen although all three beings were no longer there.

"No, we don't have any fucking kind of time T'chnde…" Nia started but was stopped before should she could finish her thought.

"If he only wanted to kill her there was nothing to stop him just now. No, like a bad blood, he means to torture her, maybe even humiliate her in the process. We have some time, and by the looks of things he took her to the old medic bay which is in the highest level of the ship. It is abandoned, and would be an ideal place to keep her so that she cannot be heard," T'chnde said, as he stood to his full height.

Nia did the same as she watched him kneel to reach for something underneath the table they were seated at. He retrieved a small box with his language written on it. He unlocked it and handed her a knife with an ornate blade and handle carved out of some sort of bone. He also handed her a small device which seemed like a smaller version of the gauntlets they all wore.

"We need to go, but we must be careful and not attract attention. The Shirxa is extremely dangerous, and she must be either avoided at all costs, or killed outright. I may not be able to kill her, but I can distract her. Come, let us go," T'chnde said, as they made their way towards the abandoned medical bay.

* * *

"Sssetg'in you cannot kill her, remember? Your plan, it mussst happen that way inssstead," Anara warned, as she hung back watching him beat her nearly to death.

The blood poured freely from all her wounds. Her mouth hung open, unable to close her mandibles because the two at the bottom had been broken, and the two top were swollen badly. He had cut a few of her dreads, and the venom applied by Anara had prevented them from clotting as they also bled profusely. Setg'in growled knowing that Anara was right, but he was enjoying himself way too much to stop just now.

"You should thank Anara, as she is saving your pathetic life. It was her idea you know, to sell you at the trading post like I sold those two humans," he said as he stepped in closer.

Dteinou was limp in her restraints. She'd tried to show no emotion, not give him the satisfaction of hearing her cry out in pain, but he'd won that battle. When he first brought her here, he had left for a short time, but he came back to beat and torture her for hours on end. Yautja didn't need much sleep to function, and that hadn't been a good thing for Dteinou.

"I sold those humans, and do you know what I purchased with the money they gave me?" Setg'in asked as he lifted Dteinou's chin delicately. She flinched but he held firm to her aching face.

"I bought Bakuub's death with it. That unknown yautja that he killed was my son, and he was a bad blood. He was the one who killed the Old Hunter with aid from the beautiful Anara and her extraordinary venom. Kujhade, his little human mate, and Mar'cte only came there because Bakuub called them. They had nothing to do with it actually, but wasn't it convenient for me that they were there?" Setg'in asked again, chuckling at his own cleverness.

"You made one….mistake," Dteinou struggled to speak. It was garbled, but Setg'in understood her anyway. He raised a questioning brow.

"You killed the Old Hunter…..the sire to most… of the matriarch's pups…and that is why she sent… me," She managed although it pained her greatly to move her mandibles even a little.

"Well in that case you can thank her for your situation. I won't kill you but that doesn't mean you'll live through this. I'm going to sell you to some especially cruel alien who would love nothing more than to exact revenge on a yautja. Who knows, they might even let a lou-dte kale like you actually feel what it's like to be mated," he said smoothly as he moved behind her. He placed his hand between her thighs and cupped her sex. He gently rubbed his fingers across it, frowning that there seemed to be no excitement. With renewed vigor at the very thought of what may be to come, Dteinou struggled hard. Setg'in kept his hand there for a few more miserable seconds, before laughing as he removed it. He came back around to the front and grabbed her face again.

"No need to worry about it, I would never dare soil myself with the likes of you. You're old and wasted away, and not worthy of my attentions." He said.

With a defiant glare, Dteinou leaned her head back and spat a large glob of florescent green blood directly into Setg'in's face. Then, it was her turn to laugh this time.

"Kill me yourself…coward!" She screamed as he grabbed her face one more time. He punched her about the face and head until she hung limp once again, and she could no longer laugh or speak.

"Anara, come here!" He called. Anara slithered forth, waiting for what he wanted her to do.

"Pull her tongue out of her mouth," he ordered.

"But, Sssetg'in" she began.

"I don't care about the pauk'de price, just get her tongue out of her mouth!" He roared. Reluctantly, Anara complied.

He got his hunting knife and hovered it over her tongue for a moment. His face was unreadable, and Anara thought he might change his mind, but he proved her wrong. With a flick of his wrist, he cut her tongue out of her mouth. Her screams and howls of fury reverberated throughout the room, but no further.


	16. The Good Doctor

That unique cadence of one foot dragging, and one planting firmly made its way down the abandoned hall. He carried his medi-comp in one hand, as his eyes darted around in the dim lighting. As he moved ever upwards, the light became less and less as he breathed harder with exertion. The doctor was the opposite of everything a yautja male was supposed to be. The only thing he had in common with his brethren was a foul temper. He was physically inferior to all the rest, but he had been smarter than all the rest, and that is how he managed to survive. In this he and Setg'in shared a common link, but it stopped there.

The doctor stopped suddenly and looked around, sure that he had heard something. Maybe it was that shirxa. He was deathly afraid of that thing. It was rare, and not much was known about them and what they did, or what ticked them off. He tried to scan the darkened hall with all its many empty rooms, and could find nothing. He never had a mask, so he couldn't scan through any walls. He took this time to catch his breath, before moving along with his shuffling gait.

He was sweating by the time he had gotten to the old bay, and it wasn't all because of physical exertion. He opened the door and looked cautiously around the room before entering. There was no sign of Setg'in or that hellish shirxa he kept with him all the time. The doctor didn't know whether to be happy that he was alone or frightened. Finally, he stepped into the room. The only lighting was overhead and very dim. In the middle of the large open area hung Dteinou. As he inched closer he could see her many gruesome injuries. Even the limited light could not fully shroud the numerous cuts all over her torso, the copious amounts of blood pooled at her feet which seemed to come mostly from her open mouth and cuts on her head. He winced at the sight of her severed tendrils, as she hung there limp and unmoving. Her chest barely could be seen moving, and for a moment he was concerned that she had died. He raised a quivering finger to her gaping mouth and felt the slightest puff of her breath. It was shallow and barely there, but she was alive.

The doctor kneeled before her as he rummaged through his medical supplies. He eventually rose to his feet holding a syringe of red liquid. It was a powerful painkiller, and he made quick work of administering it to her with a jab to her neck. She roused at the prick of pain, but settled back into her helpless position. He had been tasked with making sure Dteinou did not die, and he was determined to do that. He wiped a bit of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, then stopped as he thought he saw something from the edge of his vision. His hand was still poised on his ample forehead as he looked around in vain at every shadowy corner, and there were plenty of those. A minute passed, then another thirty seconds before he was convinced he was alone with Dteinou.

He got out a small vial of anti-venom given to him by Setg'in, directly from its source. It was supposed to help heal the female yautja by counteracting the poisons that had been introduced into her system. He was told she had to swallow it, so he poured it down her throat, then held his hand over her mouth so that she had no other choice but to swallow. She sputtered, but did swallow all of it. He shook his head. She was indeed prepared for meeting the Black Hunter if she wasn't even truly protesting this treatment. He took a careful look at her, tenderly touching her very swollen, broken mandibles. She had been severely battered, but the doctor thought that some of her exquisite beauty still shone through now that she was in this more vulnerable position. He kneeled again into his supplies and stood with a strong solution to ease her discomfort and bring down the swelling.

T'chnde and Nia watched silently from the shadows, as the doctor reset the small bones in her mandibles. He was working diligently as they watched him go about his work. Once he was done she looked marginally better, but T'chnde was still visibly upset. Dteinou had been obviously beaten and tortured, but he also wondered if she had been force mated. Why else would Setg'in want her naked? T'chnde forced himself and Nia to be still and silent. The time wasn't right. In her present condition Dteinou could not support herself, or fight. That meant that any rescue would call for T'chnde to do both the literal heavy lifting of her body, and the majority of any fighting. When Setg'in would come back was a mystery. The Shirxa was a huge concern and T'chnde was very out of practice for any prolonged battle. So they watched and waited.

The doctor took a deep breath before performing his next task. If she had been conscious and aware she would have killed him but for the very thought, but he had to do it. He kneeled down once again and produced a small but powerful light. He placed the end of the flashlight in his mouth as he put on some gloves. He didn't want any of his scent on her, nor her scent on him. With the light in his mouth he shone it on her private area. Gently, he parted her labia and felt between them for any sign of forced entry. With a reverence that males reserved for the most desirable females, he felt until he reached her entrance. He inserted one finger just inside, then closed his eyes in great relief. Quickly, he withdrew his hand and removed the gloves. For all the torture she had received, Setg'in had not forced her to mate. The fact that he was a bad blood was unquestioned, but at least he hadn't done that…yet.

The doctor was gathering his supplies when he heard heavy footfalls coming through the doorway. He looked up to see Setg'in confidently striding into the large room with Anara behind him. If a slither could convey unease, then hers certainly did. He tried to bite back his fear as the Shirxa came closer, but the doctor could feel his fear musk slowly reaching out. Setg'in smelled it and gave him a devious smile. In the shadows behind one of the dividing walls in the room, Nia stared wide eyed at what she called a medusa. Now that she had a better look it wasn't exactly as depicted, but close enough. T'chnde had to suppress a growl and his eyes barely left Dteinou's limp form. Even in the low light, Nia could see and sense his anger and the underlying sadness that fed it. Nia watched as T'chnde pulled a few small devices from his belt and hold them in the palm of his hand as if he was waiting on something. She then turned her attention towards the conversation Setg'in was having. As she watched and listened the fires of her own anger and hatred were kindling.

"I take it your work here is done doctor. She lives?" Setg'in asked with a somewhat playful tone, as if all of this were one huge joke.

"Yes, she does but Setg'in you cannot continue to…" the doctor began before he was cut off by a clap to the shoulder and pushed aside as Setg'in stood before Dteinou.

"I won't kill her. I can't promise that I won't hurt her, but I'll try to refrain from taking her life. I will sell her to others who would love nothing more," he said as he cupped Dteinou's face. She groaned her disapproval, but it was weak and he ignored it completely.

"I've already arranged it. I have two D'rhan who are willing to do anything for a taste of yautja female. Such a rare thing it is to have one of them. They will be here tonight. I will need you and Anara to be with me when they come," Setg'in said as he turned cheerily towards the physician in question, who shied back a step.

"Why would you need me here… with her no less?" He said, casting a glance at Anara, who was staring straight at Setg'in.

"You will be here to make it clear to them that despite her…weathered condition, that she is fit to be sold and that she won't even talk back," he said, enjoying the shocked look on the doctor's face.

"I see that your inspection wasn't as thorough as I would have liked it to be. I removed her wretched tongue since she didn't see fit to hold it herself," the venom and edge apparent in his voice.

"They will be here shortly, I expect you at my beck and call when they arrive. Do I make myself clear?" He said as he towered above the doctor. The shorter yautja stood as tall as possible in spite of his fear, and that seemed to amuse the clan leader very much.

"I almost admire your show of courage, but you won't need it. I don't intend to bring any harm to you unless you provoke it, but I know you aren't dumb enough to do that," he chuckled.

"One more thing. I need her lively, but happy. Up and aware, but compliant. Do you think you can manage that for me healer?" He asked as he turned his back to leave.

"Yes, I can do that," the doctor answered, shuffling back towards Dteinou while he reached in his supplies again.

Behind the dividing wall, both T'chnde and Nia were left speechless. He'd cut her tongue out?! That was outrageously cruel, and at that moment they were clear on just what kind of bad blood they were dealing with. Some bad bloods were labelled that way due to some misunderstanding or judgement, but wished desperately to be back in good standing. Then there were those who had simply gone mad, but Setg'in was in some disturbing gray area. He was totally mad yes, but not to the point where he was incapable of discerning or caring about what he was doing. He was cold and calculating. Nia thought of him as a sociopath, and she was correct for the most part.

Setg'in and Anara filed out, leaving the doctor behind to do as he had been told. They watched as he hastily created a drug cocktail which would do exactly as Setg'in had ordered. Moments after the doctor had injected her, Dteinou woke up completely. She tried to talk, realized she couldn't, and only grunted her mild frustration at the fact. It was as if that and her current predicament was of no real concern.

"H-how do you feel Dteinou?" He asked, wary of her response.

She gave him a hard stare for a moment, as if trying to decipher just what he'd said. When she figured it out, she shrugged and chuckled a bit. She tried to speak again, and when it came out garbled she chuckled again and indicated that he come closer with a head nod. He hesitated. She motioned to him again, and he cautiously he came over. She kept urging him until he was a literal breath away. When he did come over, she raised up as much as possible, presenting her small breasts coupled with her best attempt at doe eyes. She wriggled her wrists, which were caked in dried blood since the cable had bitten through her flesh. Her message was clear; get me out, and I'll show you a good time. Shocked and mildly aroused since he had never bedded a female, he shook his head and stepped back. For a fleeting moment he was tempted to cut her loose. Embarrassingly he'd have to stand on his toes to reach her wrists, but he decided against it. It would be the honorable thing to do, but his social position hadn't warranted that he possess a great deal of that. Besides, if he freed her where would she go? What would he do with her? She was compliant and docile, even cheeky right now, but that was because she was as high as the second moon on Yaut Prime. As soon as she recovered her wits he was dead, in spite of the fact he helped her escape. No. She could stay right where she was as far as he was concerned. It would be better that she was taken far away. She would be dead soon if Setg'in had actually arranged for a couple of D'rhan to buy her. They were notoriously without honor or even a conscience. They simply didn't care about any except their own kind, and woe to any who stood in the way of whatever objectives they'd set for themselves.

Then he heard something that brought his attention back to his surroundings instantly. A clattering like small pebbles across the floor drew him out of his thoughts. He looked around now, truly afraid of what might be there. Had that damnable Shirxa come back to kill him? He hoped not. Other yautja would have called his life miserable without the thrill and honor of the hunt, but he quite enjoyed his life and didn't look to see it ended so soon. Chiding himself for not being a true yautja right now, he swallowed his growing trepidation and slowly made his way around the room. He'd gotten to the dividing wall where T'chnde and Nia were squatted. Like a leopard waiting for the right time to strike, Nia could see T'chnde tense and his muscles coil. As soon as the doctor walked just past the wall, T'chnde shot out and grabbed the shorter weaker yautja into a lock around his neck, which prevented him from breathing or making any noise.

"Nia! Cut her free, now!" T'chnde ordered as he tightened his grip.

Obediently Nia took the knife he'd given her before and made her way to Dteinou. When she stood before the yautja female who had spared her life, she felt angry and sorry for her. Dteinou was in very bad shape despite her drug induced bubbly attitude.

"I'm getting you out of here girl. We gonna kill that sonofabitch for doing this to you too!" She said as she prepared to cut Dteinou loose. She started at her feet. She thought it would be fast, but whatever the cable was made out of it was resistant even to the very sharp knife. As she was working on that, the good doctor managed a warning.

"N-no…." he wheezed out. "Don't…"

"Why not?! Tell me what you know!" T'chnde demanded as he loosened his grip just enough to allow the doctor to speak.

"If you save her you will never see your sister again," he said to Nia, and that stopped her cold. Slowly she turned on her haunches to glare at him over her shoulder.

"What are you talking about?" She asked, but she knew instantly without his explanation that he would be correct in whatever he said.

"They are taking Dteinou to the…..argh…trading post. Your sister….arrrghg..is there," he managed to say through the restriction on his windpipe.

Realization dawned on T'chnde's face. He knew very well that Nia's most pressing desire was to find and possibly save her twin sister. She'd told him that Dteinou had promised to help her in this task. He also knew that what the doctor was insinuating was the best course of action. This was the one chance for all to be made right. It seemed so wrong that Dteinou would have to suffer for all of them to live past this night, but if she were in her right mind he knew that she would agree with this course of action. T'chnde narrowed his eyes as he hit upon the makings of a plan.

"We will allow this supposed sale to take place, but you will help us you miserable pauk'de fool!" T'chnde snarled. It had been a long time since he had a kill, and taking a bad bloods life as his first in a while would be satisfactory indeed.

"What…can I do? Setg'in will…" he was wheezing out as T'chnde tightened his grip once more.

"You will aid us or die right here. I haven't had a kill in many years, so think carefully about your decision," he threatened. The shorter yautja immediately nodded his assent.

"What…do you need?" He asked. T'chnde and Nia locked eyes as an unspoken thought passed between them. He lifted a lower mandible in a ghost of a grin.

"I can think of quite a few things. First, you will tell me where are Dteinou's weapons, and her awu'asa?"

* * *

It had taken two hours longer to complete the surgery than Lijia had expected. On a very superficial level, Jasmine's human physiology was similar to that of a yautja, but her nervous system was more intricate. Now Lijia understood why humans felt more pain, and were less tolerant of physical injury. They truly were pyode amedha.

As she completed the setup for pain killers and a gamut of antibiotics, Lijia stood over the pod and watched Jasmine for a while. She laid a clawed hand tenderly on the clear casing, and looked lovingly at the human woman who had become her sister. Her sisterly feelings towards Jasmine flourished in spite of her lingering crush on their clan leader. On one occasion, and one occasion only, Jasmine had explained what she called the women's code. Basically if you're best friends you don't flirt with or try to have sex with your best friend's man. It was disrespectful and had been known to end long term friendships. Lijia didn't understand that way of thinking. Kujhade was in his full right to life mate another female if he chose to. It was a rarer occurrence than life mating to begin with, but the act of mating among the yautja was a thing that brought them together, not split them apart. It was common for females to birth pups from the same sire in the same mating season. It was downright an honor if the sire was of especially high rank. Many times those females became close and even mated together with the male. Jasmine called that a threesome, and when Lijia asked if she could have one with her and Kujhade, Jasmine had stormed off in a huff. Lijia smiled at the memory. Jasmine may not have been a proper hunter, or a warrior, but she possessed a fiery nature and an ability to overcome her fears and fight for what she wanted. Lijia loved that about her friend, and hoped to Paya that Jasmine would be alright. She had been confident in front of Kujhade, but she had some doubt. They would know one way or another in about forty-eight hours or less, when Jasmine wakes up.

Lijia left the room, worn out mentally from having to be super careful during the surgery. Kujhade was waiting at the dining area, sitting at the table and staring off at nothing. His mandibles clicked arbitrarily, and she had to grunt to get his attention. Slightly startled, he looked up at her to receive any news. He started to stand until she motioned him to sit, and she sat down across from him. It was easy for her to get lost in the depth of his green eyes. They always seemed to have a great sea of emotion swirling underneath. She blinked out of it, coming to her senses to really look at his calm, beautiful face. How any female had the willpower to deny him, was a mystery to her.

"She is resting. The procedure was successful, so she should awaken within about two days according to her time," Lijia said, and Kujhade seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What will I feed the sucklings? I have no milk. Can she nurse them still?" He asked, knowing the answer to that.

"No. She has too many drugs in her system, but I'm surprised you have not noticed pale hunter," she said, reaching across the table to take his hand tenderly. He allowed the contact, unaware of the true feelings behind such a casual thing.

"What haven't I noticed?" He asked, sensing that she was trying to make the mood lighter.

"She preserves her milk. It is a rather interesting human practice. She pumps her milk into the small glass containers and stores them for later. She says she fills up too much and has to relieve it when the sucklings refuse to feed," Lijia said with a smile playing upon her mandibles. She gracefully rose to her feet and retrieved the milk bottles from the cooling container, which Jasmine always called the fridge. She waggled them before tossing one to Kujhade who stared at it before cracking a smile of his own.

"She never ceases to amaze me, my little ooman life mate," he said more to himself than her. Her smile never faltered. She knew he loved Jasmine with everything he had. It was beautiful to her. She didn't wish Jasmine not to have it, she just wanted a little for herself.

She was about to slide back into her seat when they both heard a muffled banging. Kujhade didn't react. He simply set about warming the bottles for when the pups woke up to feed.

"What is that?" She asked, seeing how unconcerned he was.

"K'var." he replied, and the tone told her he didn't want to have a conversation about that particular yautja.

"Well, what does he…" she started and was cut off by a held up hand.

"We will not discuss him. He is on my list of shits," he said, his tone deadly serious. Lijia looked puzzled at the strange turn of phrase, then brightened. She knew where he got that, even though he was butchering it.

"You mean he's on your shit list, like Jasmine says?" She asked unable to hide the mirth in her voice, even though she still wanted to talk about why K'var would be banging on the docking hatch door so soon after the debacle that took place no more than ten hours ago.

"Yes, that's what I said; my list of shits. I will not answer that and I forbid you or Marc'te to see about him. He can rot in his ship for all I care. If he is well enough to bang on the hatch, then he's well enough to undock and hunt for his own food," he said as he finished warming the two bottles. He had no idea how he was actually going to feed them.

Lijia arose from her seat to gingerly pluck the bottles which were tiny in his hands. They weren't any bigger in her own. She gave him a warm smile, and he returned a shy one. It was full of weariness and worry.

"You get some rest pale hunter, and I will feed the pups," she said and disappeared into the twin's room.

* * *

Nia was trying not to sweat and shake in fear. T'chnde had told her that yautja could smell fear and it would alert Setg'in to her whereabouts. She wished he hadn't told her that. Now she couldn't get it out of her mind, as she mopped her forehead again. She'd wanted to know why T'chnde couldn't come, but he said it would be best if he did not. He was large and obvious, and could not be trusted to keep his temper in check, or stay out of sight.

It had been several hours since they were first in the abandoned medical area. T'chnde had made the good doctor take Nia with him to retrieve Dteinou's weapons and armor. She'd placed it in a bag she had brought from Earth that was still in good condition. The armor was surprisingly light weight as she slung the large bag on her back. She sat waiting for whoever was going to come and buy Dteinou.

Nia looked over to the captured female. She was abnormally happy, contentedly clicking to herself and waving her dreads around a little. There was no one there yet with them and she wanted to call out to Dteinou, to let her know that she was going to help, but just a she geared up to call her name, Setg'in strolled in. Behind him was the Shirxa, the doctor, and two yautja males. That was a surprise. Something called D'rhan were supposed to come, but maybe plans had changed? She felt an odd relief. At least she was accustomed to the yautja and their ways.

"Now mind you, as long as you have payment I couldn't care less who takes her off my hands, but I'm highly interested in why you're here and not the pair of D'rhan I made the deal with?" Setg'in asked the two strange yautja males.

"We have a score to settle with little miss arbitrator here. She killed off almost my entire clan, except my brother and I. I couldn't pass up the opportunity," taller one said as they all formed a loose circle around Dteinou as if she were the latest attraction at the zoo.

To Nia they looked like they could have been discussing the best price for a car, or when to trade stocks. They certainly didn't seem to have the air of those discussing the fate of a living being. It only pissed her off. It didn't help that Dteinou was high off whatever the hell the doctor doped her up with. She was clicking happily at her soon-to-be captors, her gray eyes lit with the light of false awareness. Nia knew that kind of fake awareness. She spent her own fair share of time, walking the streets in a drug induced haze. She was fearless and fully aware of her surroundings, but that subtle sense of being in a dream ran as a current underneath it. Somewhere on a subconscious level she knew it was like being awake in a dream, where if you reached full lucidity you would wake up. She knew Dteinou was struggling with the same feeling, as there were brief moments where she would frown. It was as if she knew there was something wrong with this picture, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Nia supposed on some level maybe she didn't _want_ to put her finger on it.

"Oh that's right. Your bad blood clan. What was the name? Oh, right, M-di H'chak. How quaint and unique," Setg'in said. The sarcasm wasn't missed as he received a growl from the taller of the two clan brothers.

"In any case, we overheard those D'rhan talking about this. When we came to understand that they were coming to get the famous Dteinou Thei-de, the messenger of death herself, we knew we couldn't let them have her," the taller one said as he stepped forward to cup Dteinou's face in his hands.

She clicked about it, then presented her breasts again, with the doe-eyed look as she had done with the doctor. Nia could see he was taken aback by her forwardness. His reddish face was twisted in a mix of shock, and pleasant surprise. He clicked something lewd to her, and when she clicked a garbled sentence back to him, he turned towards Setg'in.

"Her tongue is gone?" He asked. The slightly shorter, bluish yautja male with him rushed over to take a look, prying her mouth open roughly. He then let loose a hearty chuckle at the sight.

"Well, the D'rhan requested I do something about her constant yapping. You know, I'm going to kill you and skin you alive when I get out of here, that sort of thing. There was only one solution to that for her. You know how she likes to talk," Setg'in said with a roll of his eyes. The other two commiserated.

"Alright, so if you have payment can take her right on out of here. The sooner the better," Setg'in said, obviously over it.

"The healer has checked her over? If she's not in usable condition, I'm afraid the deal would be off," the taller yautja male said as he cast a look to the doctor. The short yautja seemed to be particularly unnerved. A despicable sight.

"She is quite well in spite of the bruises. Flesh wounds only. She is currently taking this, which makes her docile. I only have a small amount, so use it wisely," he said as he handed him a small vial of the drug along with a syringe. The male took the drug, and shooed the doctor away.

The taller of the two nodded with a sly smile, as he pressed some buttons on his gauntlet. Apparently it was some sort of payment made, because Setg'in checked his gauntlet just after, and broke out into a wide grin. The taller yautja was almost all a rusty-reddish color, speckled with black on his sides and back. He cast a sideways glance at Anara, who was extremely still during the whole process, but not relaxed. She was there like the biggest cobra in the universe when they were standing on their tails with their neck's flared. She was ready to strike, probably at Setg'in's command.

"Hello Anara. Are you going to act as if you don't know who we are?" The taller one said, enjoying the uncomfortable air his direct speaking caused in the room. Anara hissed lightly before answering.

"Just take the yautja bitch and leave, Mekta. Take Guan with you when you leave," she hissed out. There was obviously no love lost between the three of them.

"It's Vor'mekta, you hateful bitch. You know, the same name you screamed out that night I was about to slit your miserable…" he started, but was silenced by a wrist blade to the throat.

"It would be okay with me to take your cut of the payment, but only one of you leave here with that bitch over there. I mean, what do you think?" Setg'in said as he had smoothly gotten in between the other male and Anara.

It looked chivalrous to defend her honor since he was sleeping with her, but really Vor'mekta's life was being spared. Somehow Setg'in doubted highly that any yautja was stupid enough to leave a Shirxa alive after having subdued it with violence. It just didn't work that way.

"Fair enough, Setg'in. We have other matters to attend. I thank you for this gift," Vor'mekta said, bowing very slightly and beckoning his brother to follow. Setg'in retracted his blades, stepped back, and nodded his good-bye.

His brother bad been busy setting about the task of freeing Dteinou. He received a very sensual hug in return, and more garbled clicking. The male purred very lightly before being handed a cloak with which to cover Dteinou on their way out. He lifted her bridal style as she wrapped her long muscular arms around his neck, and buried her face in the crook of it, like old lovers.

"Don't start getting soft on me brother. We're going to exact our revenge on her remember?" Vor'mekta teased as they left.

"There are plenty of ways to teach a high and mighty female a lesson," he half purred in response. The taller male, shook his head and they took leave of the room and soon the ship.

This was it. Now or never. T'chnde had equipped Nia with trainee armor, which included a basic cloaking device. It was the only kind of armor which sort of fit humans. It wasn't exactly heavy, but she could feel on her if she started exerting herself. She fumbled for a second with the command on the wrist gauntlet. It was in their language so she had to go by the little icon next to the words to understand. She selected the icon of the outline of a yautja, which faded in and out from solid to invisible. She pressed it and saw herself covered in a crackle of blue electricity before she assumed she was invisible.

It was the moment of truth. Setg'in was lingering behind, and the two males had already left the room. If she didn't come out of hiding now, she would miss her chance and all would be lost. Nia gathered he courage. Stepping out and leaving the room meant crossing right in front of everyone. She took a steadying breath, and stepped out from the shadows. She was as quiet as possible watching Setg'in and company like hawks, as she crept silently across. They didn't even break their conversation, as she slipped out of the room. She had just caught sight of the males turning a corner and hurried behind them. It was hard work keeping far enough back not to be detected, and close enough not to lose sight. Finally, they made it to a smaller, lesser used hangar on the opposite side of the ship. It was pretty much empty, and she hung back as she watched them pile into their thankfully sizable vessel. She took a few quick breaths and inched closer, trying to time the closing of the doors. A little further, and just a little further, she was close enough to touch them. They had entered the ship, and as the ramp lifted, Nia caught hold of the edge and hoisted herself up. She tried not to make more noise while trying to find a hiding place. That might have been a big joke, since the ship belonged to them and they would know every inch of it.

She caught site of the taller one at the ship's controls, readying for takeoff. The other had disappeared with Dteinou, but she heard his returning footsteps and started to panic. The ramp opened onto the controls and cockpit to one side, an open space behind it where she was currently, and a short hall with many doors on either side which led to what she assumed might had been sleeping quarters. The ship looked bigger from the outside, so she figured the doors opened upon an armory or trophy room. The footsteps came closer, and Nia closed her eyes and crouched in the doorway. He stopped right in front of her, and cocked his head to the side. He was reaching a hand out just a few yards away, before Vor'mekta got his attention.

"Get over here. I need you to help me pilot this piece of shit Guan!" He called, and immediately the shorter yautja went to the controls, all while giving his clan brother a piece of his mind.

Nia breathed what she hoped was an inaudible sigh of relief. On her hands and knees, she crawled down the corridor. She wanted to go into one of the rooms, but if the doors slid open she'd be caught. It was then that she saw a small hatch in the floor. Carefully, she slid the grating to the side and slipped in. It was a tight crawl space which led nowhere. With only the space of a few meters either way, Nia decided to simply sit there. She'd eventually come out and try to find Dteinou, and she didn't know what she would do about bathroom privileges, but she would have to cross that bridge when she got to it.

"Calm down Nia, the hard part's over girl," she spoke quietly to herself. She folded her legs under her, rested the bag next to her, and waited.


	17. The One That Got Away

He watched her be carried out by two bad bloods instead of two D'rhan. Thank Paya for small favors he supposed, but this was eating him up inside. T'chnde sat back in his chair, watching the monitors and thinking back on the past. Maybe it was the wrong time to be thinking about it, but he couldn't help but remember.

So many cycles ago, Dteinou Thei-de had come to him. He wasn't the mightiest hunter, although he had a respectable trophy case. She however, was one of the most desirable females on Yaut Prime. Her pedigree was spotless as was the honor and reputation of her clan. Dteinou was beautiful and strong and a blooded warrior already at the tender age of 53, which in human terms would be akin to a woman in her early to mid-twenties. He recalled the first time he disembarked from a long hunt, only to step foot to a welcome reserved for triumphant kings. T'chnde felt like a king at that moment. All the males observed the rows upon rows of females. It was the second day of mating season, and the musk was in the air. He glanced over all the females, some of whom ignored him for more prominent hunters, and some who were offering themselves for mating right on the spot. They were nice to look at, but he knew who he wanted although she didn't seem to be present among the throng.

Maybe she was at home. The year before, after mating season ended they had met, and even though no one believed him, he and Dteinou had fallen in love. They agreed not to actually mate at that time. He was about to leave on a long hunt, and he wanted to be around for the birth of their pups. The truth was that he wanted to life mate her, and she had expressed the same sentiment. Now he was back, and he made a beeline to her home, only to find her not there. She'd told one of her clan sisters to deliver him a message personally. She had decided to dedicate her life to the hunt, and the hunt alone. T'chnde's heart was broken. For all intents and purposes they had planned their lives together, but now it was over. He thought it was a temporary phase. Maybe she needed some time to hunt before taking on the responsibility of being a bearer. With that in mind, he returned to the home planet each year, taking only shorter hunting trips so that he could remain close by, but she didn't return.

Eventually, he accepted the truth. Dteinou had left him behind without explanation and seemingly without any regrets. He happened upon her only a few times after all that, but the circumstances had never been right to bring up old hurts. Now this time he knew he couldn't let her slip away again. He couldn't watch her be carried out of his life, this time into a certain death with only a ooman woman to aid her. No. He couldn't have gone with her in the ship, but that didn't mean he couldn't follow them. He placed an upgraded long range tracking device on Dteinou's armor before it was handed over to Nia, but the signal would only last so long. He imagined they were quickly getting out of range. He made up his mind then. He had to go get her.

T'chnde stood to his full height and strode over to a recess in the wall of the small room he spent most of his time in. It opened upon an old chest, which held his own weapons cache and armor. Reverently he grabbed his armor and placed it on himself piece by piece. Even after all this time, his hands knew their business. Muscle memory at its absolute finest as he placed his smart disc on his thigh, placed two daggers at his back, one on his upper arm, attached his plasma cannon and checked its targeting system, grabbed his combi-stick and hung it at his side. Lastly he placed his mask on his face and fastened the hoses. He was ready. With the stride of a warrior he made his way to the hangar. He wasn't surprised to find several yautja standing in front of the entrance, with intent to bar his way. He gripped the middle of his combi-stick without exactly brandishing it as he made his way to the group of about five males. The mouthpiece of the group stepped forward.

"No one is to leave this ship for any reason, not even for hunting for at least the next few days. So, you go back to your place and wait for word," the male said, standing his ground but not looking too concerned about fighting.

"Give me one good reason why I can't simply get into my ship and leave," T'chnde challenged.

This one must have been handing out this little decree all day without any resistance, because he seemed surprised by T'chnde reply,

"Our clan leader demands it, and that should be enough," the male growled, not liking to be opposed. The tension was building as the other four yautja seemed to settle their hands upon their respective weapons.

"The clan leader is a bad blood, and I do not serve under bad bloods. I'm leaving so I suggest you move away from my ship," T'chnde growled, finally brandishing his combi-stick in both hands and dropping into a defensive stance.

"One last chance brother. We don't want to do this, just go back!" The male pleaded, but T'chnde was unmoved.

"As long as you serve that bad blood you are not my brothers," T'chnde growled.

With a roar one of the other males lunged at him and like that the fight was on. It had been so long since T'chnde had even really hunted. He had simply lost the zeal and desire for it long ago. It didn't fill the empty spaces left by wondering what he and Dteinou could have been. He should have been able to let that go, but he couldn't even after all this time. Even after all those hunts, and even siring a few pups of his own, he was not satiated by the hunt alone anymore. Now, it came back to him as if it had never left. An old friend whom you had lost contact with but who lived on fondly in your heart and memories. His combi-stick whistled as it cut through the air with precision and force. The blood rushed through his veins and thrummed in his head and ears. He took a cut to the leg and felt the hot blood run down. Perfect. Only one male had attacked as the rest hung back. It was dishonorable to fight unequally. If he brought down one of them, he could leave.

The male he was fighting was younger, hunted regularly, and was stronger than T'chnde but not quite as determined. He wasn't fighting hard enough considering his life hung in the balance. A young blood then. Too bad his life would not end on a glorious hunt, but here on a ship following the orders of a bad blood. Briefly they circled one another, snarling and growling. T'chnde had received two slashes to his thigh and three to his arm by way of the other male's wrist blade. Meanwhile, the young blood was limping due to several heavy blows to his knee and lower leg. It was T'chnde's trademark to go after the joints of whatever or whoever he was fighting. Time was of the essence, and T'chnde didn't have the luxury of grandstanding or making a huge spectacle of a triumph. He had to get going or lose Dteinou's signal for good. He launched himself at the younger male, only to have the male dodge out of the way. It was no use, as T'chnde caught him in the back on his downswing. The other male grunted in pain but refused to go down. T'chnde didn't let up. He turned around to face the young blood. He crouched down very low and drove upwards with his stick. As he expected, the male dodged to the right towards the knee that wasn't hurting. This left his other knee exposed to the strike that would break it. The snap was audible, and the young blood went down holding it and howling in pain. T'chnde stepped over him with the end of the combi-stick aimed at his throat.

"Give up, or die here," he said. At first the young yautja gave him a long look as if he would concede defeat peacefully, but instead he gave a cry and brought up his wrist blades in a final moment of defiance. Without hesitation, T'chnde slit his throat and the warm spray showered his legs and the end of his weapon.

He stepped over the body towards his ship, still holding his weapon in case the others got antsy. None of them tried to fight. T'chnde had won the right to leave, and that was that. Two of the males carried off their dead brother and the other two simply watched T'chnde board his ship and leave.

Once he was safely inside with the hatch closed and seated at the controls, he let out a loud sigh and leaned his head back. His heart was still thundering in his chest as the adrenaline rush died down. He hadn't been in a fight to the death in so many cycles, that he couldn't even really remember. He took a few moments to stop the bleeding from his wounds before he started his thrusters. After a few moments more, his ship taxied towards the hangar doors, and jetted out into the blackness of space as he hurtled towards the red triangle on his screen that indicated Dteinou's position.

* * *

 _Two Days Later:_

Her eyes fluttered open to the dull thud of something beating on something else. At first Jasmine thought the thudding sound was in her head, but as she lay there trying to come to full coherency, she realized it was coming from somewhere else. Without moving too much she cast her eyes around the room, or at least tried to. All she could see was the metal floor. She tried to move her head to the side very slowly, but found that she was in some sort of contraption that stopped that movement. For one frightening moment, Jasmine couldn't feel anything. She tried to move her arms and legs, and could only manage to finally wiggle her fingers and toes. She closed her eyes in relief. So she wasn't paralyzed at least, but what had exactly happened? She tried to remember. At first it was just fuzzy things. Something about waking up and babies crying. Then her eyes shot open again, and this time she tried to struggle against her restraints. Where were her babies? Where were Marcus and Mili?

"Marcus? Mili? Jhade?" she called, her voice surprisingly weak. She could hardly move, but then felt the cot underneath her start to lift. The surface of the cot separated so that the main part was stationary, and the part with the restraints was in the air and rotating her until she was facing the ceiling. Gently, it lay her back down, and the metal restraints themselves unlocked and retreated to their hidden space underneath the cot. She had never known the cot could do anything. It just looked like an uncomfortable place to get rest. Standing over her with the biggest grin was Mar'cte.

"Sister! You're awake!" He exclaimed and then did something she totally didn't expect. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck and the side of her face, purring all the while.

"Hey Mar'cte. Where is everybody?" She asked, calmed because Mar'cte did not seem to be in any distress. He nuzzled her a little longer, and that had her a little concerned. How bad of shape was she really in?

"I made Kujhade take rest. He has been in here the last two days without eating and barely sleeping. I told Lijia to slip something into his food to make him sleep," he said rising up and patting a large hand on her arm.

"Wait, two days?! I've been out two whole days?! What's wrong with me Mar'cte? Where're the babies?" She asked, becoming a little panicked all over again, and trying to get up. She was still half expecting to be restrained, but met no resistance getting to a sitting position.

"Aahh!" She exclaimed, grabbing the back of her neck were a very small incision was located. The scar was miniscule, but her neck and shoulder area was very sore and stiff.

"Be careful, and calm down sister," Mar'cte admonished after rushing over to grab her by the shoulders, both steadying and comforting her.

"The pups are asleep. Kujhade is getting some much needed rest, and you need to calm yourself. You were hurt, but Lijia was able to heal you. She said you would be sore and stiff for a little while, but that you would be okay," he said as he soothed his hands over her shoulders and arms. Jasmine tried to calm down, but he still saw the worry in her eyes.

"Do you trust me sister?" He asked solemnly. She studied his face before melting into his chest, leaning into his embrace.

"Yes, Mar'cte. I trust you," she said, breathing relief and relaxing her tense, tight muscles.

"Do you remember what happened?" He finally asked her. She leaned back to look into his face.

"He didn't kill him did he? Tell me the truth," she asked. He was astounded by the level of concern her heard in her voice for a yautja who could have killed her with that backhand.

"No, but it was a close thing. He ended up putting him out and into his own ship, but he couldn't detach. That banging you hear is him, but Kujhade has ordered us to ignore it. I know how stubborn you can be, but I think you should heed that order," Mar'cte warned, and she had to smile because he was right.

"Okay," she said simply. That was too easy. Mar'cte gave her a look then shook his head.

"I will bring you some fruits and a little water. Lijia said to feed you if you woke up," he said then raced off to prepare some food.

That was all fine and well because she was starving, but her first concern was the twins. She had to see them for herself. Jasmine crept up out of the bed, and wobbled on stiff legs towards the door. She braced herself along the wall for added support. She had just gotten out of the room before running into Mar'cte who was holding a platter full of delicious smelling fruit and a huge container of water. So much for preparing just a little bit.

"I told you everything was fine, why are you up?" He asked, and she didn't miss the annoyance in his voice.

"I trust what you said, but a mother just has to look. I have to Mar'cte," Jasmine said as she made her way ever so slowly towards the twin's room. With an exasperated huff, he set down the platter and water to help her along. He pretty much carried her inside.

She broke down just a little at the sight. They were sleeping peacefully side by side, and adorably holding hands. They were completely naked as none of the yautja knew how to snap the onesies or pin their diapers. She didn't mind that at the moment, she was simply content to lay eyes upon them. She didn't touch them for fear of waking them. They were like cats, easy to wake and rouse even from a very deep sleep.

After a few minutes she turned around, and again with Mar'cte's help sat at the table to eat some of the food he had brought for her.

 _Thunk, thunk thunk_

She couldn't help but turn towards the sound. The hatch wasn't too far from where the pit bed was.

"Why is he beating on the door anyway? Doesn't he know Kujhade is angry?" Jasmine asked. Mar'cte gave a thoughtful look before answering.

"I think he's hungry. We haven't stopped to hunt and from what Kujhade says, we won't be stopping to hunt until we get to Yaut Prime. We have enough supplies between all of us, but as for K'var, I don't think he has much," he said as Jasmine simply nodded her head with a mouthful of fruit. She was even swinging her feet back and forth in contentment.

"How exactly do you feel Jasmine? Don't bother lying," has asked as he watched her eat happily.

"I don't lie," she said playfully as she threw a fruit hull at him. "Anyway, I feel like I got ran over by an eighteen wheeler two times going downhill. My neck is super stiff, and my fingers and toes won't stop being numb," she said, looking across at Mar'cte.

"Did K'var beat me?" She asked. She really didn't remember exactly what had happened. "All I remember is being hit super hard and then it all went black. Did he beat me a lot?" She asked again.

"He hit you once, and you smacked against the wall hard. Kujhade was on him before you slid to the floor. It took every bit of my strength to keep him from killing that pup," Mar'cte explained as he partook of some fruit himself

"All this from one hit? I was out for two days huh?" She mused, still stuffing her face.

"Lijia said your neck had been broken, and that if you had been on Earth you would have been paralyzed from it. Good thing our medicine is more advanced," he explained as if he had told her that Marcus pooped in his diaper the other day.

"What the fuck?! My neck was broken?!" She said, shocked and rubbing the back of her neck. She finally shook her head, gingerly, in disbelief.

Her stomach full, she pushed the platter away as well as the water. She leaned back in the seat and gave a loud belch followed by a giggle.

"I think I need to lay back down. Would you help me Mar'cte?" she asked sweetly. He helped her and began heading towards Kujhade until she lightly protested.

"I think I still need the pain meds and stuff. Take me to the medical bay again," she requested, and he obliged.

A few hours later Jasmine still lay awake. Seeing that she was fine, Mar'cte had stopped his vigil and gone back to his own ship. She listened but didn't hear anything except the dull thumps that resumed every few hours and lasted for at least thirty minutes or so non-stop. Jasmine eased out of bed, the dome of the cot hissing faintly as it lifted. She crept as silently and slowly as possible through the dimmed ship until she got to the supplies. She gathered the uneaten fruit from earlier and placed it into a small netted sack. She then had to creep past Kujhade's pit to get to the hatch, watching for any movement along the way. Whatever Lijia had given him worked like a charm because he didn't move a muscle.

Inch by inch she got down on all fours and made her way towards the hatch. She winced as it hissed loudly when it opened, only to reveal another hatch door. She was worried that he would bang again on it, but he didn't. Maybe he heard her, or maybe he was done. Tentatively she reached down the short distance to press a large green button. She had no idea what to expect, and her heart started racing. Maybe she was making a big mistake. Firstly, she was defying Kujhade, and secondly he might have known something she didn't. After all, she had been out for a couple of days, so it was possible that things happened that she didn't know about yet. Before she could change her mind, the second hatch door slid open to reveal K'var waiting under it. The distance between the two hatches was no more than a foot or so, so she jumped a little and in truth he was startled to see her as well.

She took a moment to look at him. He looked as if he had been in a fight recently. Even with his superior healing, he was still beat up. His eye looked like it was still a little swollen, as if it hadn't been all that long ago that it was the size of a golf ball. One of his mandibles looked as if it was healing, but not quite on the best angle. In short, he looked as if he could have used medical attention, but was deprived of it, so his body healed however it could.

Jasmine lowered the bag of fruit down, as he simply eyed it, then eyed her suspiciously. She held it until she was sure he wouldn't take it.

"Well, don't you want it? Thought you were hungry?" She said, giving the bag a shake right in his face. He didn't reply, but the way he hungrily eyed the bag told her all she needed to know, but he still hesitated. She pulled the bag back a little and took another look at him before speaking again quietly.

"What were you doing to my babies K'var? Were you going to hurt them?" She asked him with narrowed eyes, and she could tell the question caught him off guard. He cast his eyes to the side, barely able to look at her.

"No," he said simply. She waited for more but he just held his head down and didn't speak.

"So what were you doing then?" She queried. He flashed his golden, blood-shot eyes up at her.

"Nothing, they were waking. I only wanted to look at them. I only wanted not to wake them," he said as if it pained him to speak. His mandibles moved at irregular angles as he spoke.

Jasmine's expression softened. She thought he was hurting them, but as she tried to recall, he really hadn't done anything to them. They seemed fine to her now, and Mar'cte didn't report that they were hurt either. She extended the bag of fruit to him again, and this time he hurriedly grabbed it out of her hand. It was then that she caught a glance at one of his hands. He'd started to reach with it, and as if he just remembered that it was broken, he reached out with the other. It looked to be a mangled mess that wasn't setting good. No way he could hunt in this condition. Kujhade had really been beating him to death, on her account. She understood it from his point of view, but that didn't make her feel any better about it. Someone had almost lost their lives because of her and really to boil it down, a misunderstanding. K'var was never hurting her children, but she'd just reacted without being clear and he had nearly died and so had she. Jasmine made up her mind. Whether Kujhade liked it or not, she was going to help K'var get better, and she was going to feed him. There, it was settled then. With a wonderful smile, she retracted her hand and allowed the airlock door to close, but just before it did a clawed hand stopped it.

"Thank you, ooman," he said in as small of a voice as he could have. Then the door snapped shut.

K'var stood there for a moment, dumbfounded. Had the ooman girl he had so casually attacked really been the only one aboard that ship that bothered to answer his knocking? He looked at the bag of fruit in his hand as if it he didn't know how it had gotten there, then back up at the closed airlock doors. He turned on his heels and limped towards the eating area which was pretty much bare of any real supplies. He'd needed to see to his injuries, but couldn't endure without any food to consume after treatment. His bones were setting badly, and while his kind did not suffer infections often, when they did it was usually deadly. They needed to be broken and reset and he wasn't looking forward to that at all, but at least now he could eat something.

He struggled to peel one of the largest of the fruits with his one good hand, but he managed it. Eagerly he bit into it closing his eyes at the delicious taste. He gobbled it down, and peeled another and ate it. He started to reach for a third as she had brought a sizable amount, but thought he should probably preserve it as much as possible. No doubt she would not be so generous a second time. He wanted to ask for meats, but beggars could not choose. He cast his eyes towards his medical station and gave a heavy sigh.

His sire had done this to him on account of that ooman, but he had given fair warning about it. As usual K'var had allowed his emotions to dictate his actions. The yautja who trained him had told him as much on many occasions, and had predicted that K'var would be killed on a hunt due to his rash decision making. Maybe that elder was correct, but at least he had a chance to make amends if possible.

He'd passed his chiva and gone on hunts, but K'var had been without any real direction. His bearer had told him that the infamous Kujhade was his sire, and she'd made it sound so shameful. He often wondered why she allowed the mating if Kujhade had been so bad, but he had never ventured to actually ask. He learned later that it was only bad because apparently there was a second pup born with his sire's own affliction, proving that it was hereditary and likely at a high rate. This caused a few eyes to be unfavorably cast in K'var's direction. Did he carry the same affliction? Probably, so the best thing to do was to deny him mating rights even though he was a normal yautja in every way. After all it was better to be safe than sorry, right? Right. The proof lay just in the ship he was attached to currently didn't it? Proof in the form of an albino pup whose mother was not even yautja. So that's four sired pups, two of them albino and two normal ones. It was definitely hereditary, and the likelihood of Kujhade siring such pups seemed very high at about a fifty percent rate. Unfortunately for K'var the reasoning wasn't all that farfetched. He could very well sire pups like that of his own, and no female wanted to take the chance.

The truth was that the little ostracisms had begun just after passing his chiva to become a bonafied hunter. At first he didn't want to believe that his bearer's clan could be so shallow, but they were and he bore the brunt of it. His rejection by the female this past mating season was really the fuel to his fire, and prompted him on his foolhardy errand to murder his father. Now he was here, unable to best his sire in a fight, and nearly beaten to death had his father's right hand yautja not stopped it.

He eased himself up from the table, every muscle and joint aching and paining. He had woken up in his medical pod which helped with the worst of it all, but he still hadn't truly treated himself. Limping, he made it to his medical bay and turned on the bright lights. He seated himself on the metal slab and placed his broken hand inside what looked like a hole in the wall. It lit up like a tiny MRI machine and began to scan his hand. An image of the broken bones inside hovered before him. He programed the machine to do what it did best, which in this case was set bones properly. It would be painful, but he could bear it. Quickly, like ripping off the most painful Band-Aid in all the world, the machine set his hand properly and began to place a gel on it which would harden like a cast. His eyes watered as the bones which had set were broken and moved in the right positions. It took several minutes to complete, and afterwards he injected himself with a powerful antibiotic followed by a painkiller. He decided to set his mandibles while he was at it. A clear mask which fit over his face like his armored mask worked on his mandibles. It was much more painful than his hand, but it went faster.

He wanted to do more to fix himself, but decided enough was enough for now. He slid off the metal table and hobbled back to grab another piece of fruit, then went to his pit bed. He stared up at the ceiling. He still wanted to talk to his sire about everything, but wondered if Kujhade would ever speak to him now. He drifted into a medicine and pain induced sleep, and didn't wake until a knock came at the airlock doors the next day.

The next morning Jasmine awoke to the sight of Kujhade hovering over her with his arms full of the twins. She felt much better after another night of rest. She greeted her family, kissing Kujhade and holding her babies. They had taken to screeching in the highest pitch they could find, while stiffening their little bodies. She quickly realized this was their expression of extreme joy when they saw her. She wrapped them in their little onesies and diapers, as they all got back to their normal routine. The only thing different, was that Jasmine would get up while everyone was sleep, and gather supplies for K'var.

For the next two weeks, she had made at least three deliveries to him. Each time they spoke a few more words to one another. On one such night she got up to check on the twins. They consistently slept through the night, barely waking for any reason. She gathered a bit of meat for him and some fruits which he seemed to enjoy. She made her way to the hatch. She only had to tap lightly before it hissed open. He reached up but this time, she was coming all the way down. It was sudden so he had no choice but to help her by releasing the pull down ladder and steadying her on it. Once she was in, she handed over the package to a bewildered K'var.

"I figured it's time we stop playing around and really get to know one another, since I'm sneaking you food," she beamed up at him while smoothing down her front. She had nothing on but a T-shirt she'd purchased and more jogging pants, no shoes.

"Maybe," he said as he put the food up neatly. He turned to her and just stood there looking.

"Well, you look better than you did when I first gave you some food. How've you been doing K'var?" Jasmine asked, taking a seat at his table and making herself at home without asking. After all, she was technically his step-mother.

He looked himself over as if he didn't know what she was talking about, but then nodded. He felt a hell of a lot better. Push come to shove he was in hunting shape if he had to be.

"My hand is healed, so are my mandibles. I can hunt if I needed to, but if I can take a few more days, I will be in perfect health," he said as he continued to stand. He was obviously uncomfortable with the entire situation.

"You might as well sit down over here K'var and talk to me because I'm not going anywhere," Jasmine said, smiling and patting the table. Reluctantly he came to sit across from her, his back rigid and he was barely looking at her. Jazzy reached over and grabbed his face in her hands.

"Look at me K'var. It's okay. I just want to talk alright? I forgive you for hitting me so we can move on from that. I just want to talk and so do you, or you wouldn't still be here. I don't believe for a second you aren't well enough to strike out on your own, so talk to me," Jazzy said as she rubbed his face to calm him down. He blinked slowly and lowered his hands which he had raised defensively when she grabbed his face.

"I-I'm sorry ooman,"

"Jasmine or Jazzy, not ooman or any of that other predator shit," she corrected while still smiling at him. He nodded.

"I'm sorry Jasmine," he said, and actually felt relieved to have said it.

"I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have overreacted and got you into trouble sweetheart," she said sweetly, and she thought she saw a ghost of a smile touch his face.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, we can talk about why you're really here. You can't kill your dad, and you haven't left. Do you wanna talk to him maybe?" She asked, not beating around the bush. K'var's shoulders slumped a little.

"I am dishonored. I have tried to kill my sire like a bad blood, and I have attacked his mate. I am not worthy now to speak to him," K'var said, his eyes downcast.

Just in that quick sentence, Jasmine understood the depth of his anguish. Hitting her and the whole fiasco was an unfortunate event that sidetracked everything. K'var wanted his father, and he now felt that he'd blown the chance. Jasmine grasped his hand into hers.

"Kujhade is a fierce hunter and warrior. He is patient, and fair. He isn't hard-hearted K'var, so don't lose hope. He'll come around. As a matter of fact, I'll make sure he does okay?" She said as she gave his hand one last squeeze and got up from the table. He grabbed her a little tighter to get her attention again.

"How? How will you make him forgive me?" K'var asked, the desperation clear in his tone.

"I've got my ways," Jasmine said, giving him a wink and sauntering towards the hatch.

"I gotta go now, before he wakes up and catches me down here. Just hang tight okay? It's gonna be okay, I promise," she said, and catching him off guard again, Jasmine hugged him and stroked his arms, and held his face in her hands. Once again he was a rigid as a soldier at attention, afraid to move for fear of hurting her again.

"Alright, see ya in a few days," she said as he helped her shimmy back up the pull down ladder and through the hatch.

"Thank you, for everything," he said quietly, looking up at her with a face that looked so much like his father's. She couldn't help but smile down at him before making her way out of his ship.

K'var went to grab a bite to eat, and then sit at the controls. He contemplated simply undocking and finding his own way, no matter what Jasmine had said. He was about to do it, but decided against it. He'd stuck around this long, so what was the harm in waiting a while longer? Maybe the little human could do something he could not? After all, she was a female and she was his mate. He got up and went to his trophy room to think a while as he cleaned his humble collection. He wondered if his would ever look like his father's.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all the new follows, all the reviews, and the new favorites! I know some of you went to read the first installment, and you don't know how much I appreciate that you liked it well enough to continue the story. I've done a little time jumping here, but I'm gonna back up a little in the next chapter to check on Dteinou, Nia, and T'chnde. I'm trying to keep the momentum going, and I'd like to say we're winding up on the story, but I'm afraid we're just getting started. This might be my longest story yet. We haven't even made it to Yaut Prime, but we'll get there!**


	18. Just Because

She had managed to secure a hiding place in the same room where they were keeping Dteinou. It was a crawl space in the ceiling which served as the access to the ventilation system. She'd lucked up on getting into the spot, and it was a close call. Nia had managed to find Dteinou when their captors had gone to sleep. When she entered the room, she hadn't expected Dteinou to be awake, but she was and apparently she was excited to see Nia's familiar face. She started grunting and clicking loudly, obviously still drugged. Suddenly there were footsteps, and Nia had mere moments to figure out a hiding spot before she was caught and killed. Now she was sure it had been more than a day since then. She could tell from the constant state of hunger and thirst, and lack of sleep.

Within that relatively short amount of time, Nia had witnessed a measure of their depravity and hatred towards Dteinou. The shorter one had just finished raping and beating her what must have been a few hours ago. She was drugged so didn't need to be restrained or beaten, but these were bad bloods, so there was nothing they deemed dishonorable. It was painful to watch. She gathered from the trouble he had entering her, that Dteinou was probably a virgin or close to. Her inexperience with sexual situations showed through the fear in her eyes. Nia had a front row seat as she peered down between the vents. The yautja female could not truly process the danger she was in, or the fact that she was being assaulted sexually, but she knew something wasn't right. At first she was purring at his touch, and even though he was punching and biting her, she still tried to purr at him in an effort to calm him. Needless to say it had no effect, as he did what he wanted and stopped only when he was satisfied.

When he was done he made sure to tie her back down with wide metal bands across her body. She was laying on a table with no padding and no comfort. Nia watched in horror as the effects of the drug Dteinou was under, started to clear out and full comprehension take its place. The process was slow and heartbreaking to see. She couldn't close her legs all the way as a small rivulet of green blood escaped her privates. She was starting to wince as the pain from her beatings caught up with her. The most horrible thing, was watching her come to the full realization that she could not speak. That her tongue had been removed. Her eyes flashed and her chest heaved as she was nearly hyperventilating. Then she began to wail. It was full of fury, pain, sadness, and horror. It was a sound Nia had never heard before, and wished never to hear again, but Dteinou didn't stop for a long time. She expected one of them to come in and try to shut her up but they never did. So that was the game then. A little psychological torture. Do things to her when she could not defend herself, then let her remember it without any drugs to drown it out.

Finally, after her voice became hoarse Dteinou quieted down. She lay there staring up at the slatted ceiling. Through it she could see the human girl Nia. How she had gotten on this ship from hell she didn't know, but she shouldn't have been here. Her head ached terribly, and her screaming hadn't helped it at all. She expected one of those bad bloods to come in and beat her but they left her alone. Whatever that doctor had given her had placed her in a heavy fog. It was as if she were viewing her own actions and the actions of others from far away. Now she was all present and accounted for, and she intended to remain that way. She knew above all other things that it was important for her to be able to think clearly. That meant no more drugs.

She turned her head as she took careful inventory of everything in the room. She needed a plan and fast. Planning would help her to take her mind off of the humiliation she endured. There was a dull ache in her nether regions which she tried to ignore. He'd left her bloody, sore, and messy with his filthy seed. She tried to keep focus on creating an escape plan, but she kept feeling his hands on her, his hot breath in her face, his biting, and his slaps and punches. Dteinou was purposely ignoring Nia. Firstly, she was embarrassed before the human female. Being assaulted made her feel weak, and to have someone witness that weakness was more than she could bear. Secondly, Nia was trying to get her attention, but Dteinou didn't want to encourage the communication. She could hear the males around, and they would be able to hear Nia if she started talking.

Dteinou tried to focus again on the room she was in. It was pretty much bare. No weapons, no other seats, nothing. There was only the familiar yellowish backlighting of the walls, the metal slab she was on, and a small room off to the side. If she had to guess it was either a storage area, or a bathroom. Dteinou was hoping to Paya it was a storage room of some sort. Storage meant either food supplies or weapons, but she thought they wouldn't be stupid enough to place her within reach of anything she could kill them with. Then she tried to move. It hurt like hell, but she tried to wriggle her hands to the edge of the slab. No luck. Her arms were pinned tightly by the wide metal restraints. She then tried to move her legs, and there was no luck there either. She was about to try a little harder before going completely still. She heard Vor'mekta approach and stand at the doorway. She closed her eyes and bought herself some time. It would be well for them to believe she was asleep now after all that wailing and screaming she'd done. She needed them to believe she was helpless, which was a state she didn't plan on being in for too much longer.

He watched her from the doorway. It had been a while since she'd stopped all her caterwauling, and now she seemed to be sleeping. He hated her. She'd killed so many of his clan members in the righteousness of being an arbitrator. She'd infiltrated their group to learn if they really were bad bloods. A sly move for an arbitrator. Usually they came in killing first and asking questions later, but not Dteinou Thei-de. She'd used better methods than that. Vor'mekta's clan was smarter than the average group of bad bloods, and more elusive. He kept ties with a few elders and specialized in killing what had become known as Berserker Yautja, or what the humans called super predators. In return for this covert service, he and his clan were granted a sort of unspoken immunity. Dteinou disregarded that totally. Sure the dealings were unsanctioned and unofficial, but it existed. All that Vor'mekta did was the dirty work that so called more honorable yautja were too afraid to do. No one wanted to deal with the Berserkers, even high arbitrators. They were much more vicious than the normal breed of yautja, and they recognized no honor system except that of their individual clan's making. They hunted in small groups and their favorite quarry were other yautja, or lesser yautja as the Berserkers liked to refer to them.

There was more to it than that however. Dteinou had infiltrated them under the guise of becoming a bad blood herself. It was a big scandal, the great Dteinou Thei-de defecting to become a bad blood. A big boon for his clan if there ever was one, and to top it all off she was interested in none other than Vor'mekta himself as a mate. They would rule the clan together, or at least that's what she told him. She was convincing. All the while she was reporting back all her findings to the Matriarch, and as soon as she got the go ahead to slaughter them, she did. It was ruthless, without remorse and without pity. She spared no one. Not even Vor'mekta himself would have survived her sudden attack had he not escaped with a scant few other members. That was almost one hundred cycles ago, and his clan hadn't recovered yet.

Now she was at his mercy and he would enjoy exacting his long awaited revenge. She lay there, a battered beauty. She was long, lithe, and muscled. Her delicate mottling covering her side, and her small but high riding breasts which told him that she had never birthed a pup. She was still beautiful even now, and even after all this time. He strode over to her, the smell of mating musk still around her. Her grey eyes were closed, and her breathing was even. He resisted the urge to stroke her face or her tendrils. Instead he gripped the edge of the slab to make sure his hands stayed in one spot.

"It's been many years since you betrayed and killed my clan, but I have you now Dteinou. You will not escape, and there is no one coming to save the great messenger of death," he said softly. She didn't move.

 _Smack!_

"Pay attention!" he screamed. She opened her eyes slowly as if still under the influence of the drug. She even managed a purr, although Vor'mekta wasn't quite buying it. He grabbed her around the throat and squeezed down hard.

"I said no one will save you, and I will enjoy giving you the same treatment you gave my clan you pauk'de bitch!" He shouted in her face, squeezing until her eyes watered. He eased up, and she began to cough and sputter.

He began to march around the slab, flinging his dreads and huffing in anger. He was like a pacing tiger in a cage, pointing and jabbing his finger in the air as he spoke.

"My whole clan! Those were my brothers! Do you know what you caused, what you ruined?!" He said coming to hover over her until their foreheads touched.

"You ruined us Dteinou. You ruined everything we could have had," he said as it was barely audible except to her. He stared into her grey eyes and was captured by them all over again.

"Let…go" she said. At least, that's what she tried to say. It took him several seconds to decipher the horribly butchered words. He stared into her eyes, but there was no conflict in his mind and heart. She had betrayed him and there had to be consequences for that.

"Do you want me to let you go?" He asked her as he got close enough to nuzzle. He finally did stroke her head and hair. She nodded one time. He smiled.

"Never," he whispered to her, and she felt the prick of a syringe in her arm. Drugged. Again.

* * *

The signal was faint but it was still there right on the edge of his radar. They had set a course seemingly for the trading planet which made sense to T'chnde. He followed them but didn't want to be detected by them at this time. He didn't want them trying to evade and get away. It was best that he hung back and watched. If he had to wait until the trading post to kill them he would, but if they stopped to hunt they would be the ones being hunted. He hoped that they would at least keep her alive in order to sell her, but with bad bloods you could never be too sure. They were impulsive once they didn't adhere to the accepted honor code.

He tried to keep calm, but pictures of her being hung up and tortured danced in his head. He sped up a bit. He had to make a move and fast. Something inside him kept telling him that he didn't have as much time as he thought. The trading post was only about a few days out, but could Dteinou survive that long? He wanted to think she could, but not if she was still in the state she was when she was carted off, and he had no reason to think she wasn't. It was likely worse. He didn't know the two males who had her, but there had to be a serious reason why they came to get her. These two had killed two D'rhan to get to her, and you had to be determined to kill two adult D'rhan. They were insect like creatures who more or less appeared similar to mantis-type beings if a comparison had to be made. They were incredibly strong and predatory in their own right. They were highly intelligent also, and excessively cruel minded. Their large and bright wide eyes, and small mouths gave them a youthful, benign appearance which belied their nature. They thought nothing of killing for sport and the thrill of it all, reveling mostly in dismembering and consuming their victims. A good hunter had to be extremely careful when hunting on their planet. To have bested two in a short period of time was a great feat indeed, so these yautja were highly motivated to get Dteinou and that had T'chnde very worried. He accelerated just a little bit more.

* * *

That bastard had drugged her again, but he hadn't emptied the syringe. The doctor had only given him a small amount, and he didn't want to use it all in one go. So it was just enough to get her mind muddled and draw her focus to giving and receiving pleasure of any kind. She hated it. Dteinou could feel herself floating and watching everything from a third person point of view.

The hours must have ticked right on by, because she'd been laying there with her eyes closed before she heard the shuffle of something above her. Dteinou watched as Nia negotiated her way down and out of the ceiling. The ceiling was made up of slats which she could hold on to, and there were a few rungs on the wall which she could use to get up and down. Nia brought down a large bag with her and crept towards Dteinou who watched with detached interest.

"I'm here D," Nia cooed quietly to her as she kept a constant lookout for any hint that their captors were on their way. She looked back down into Dteinou's face and stroked her head.

"We're gonna get you the fuck out of here, and we gonna kill those fucking putos while we're at it, I swear to God," she whispered as she continued to stroke Dteinou's head which earned her a low purr.

"Shhh, we don't wanna wake them up," Nia said as she started to look around the room.

Thankfully Dteinou must have understood it as she did quiet down. Nia was looking for somewhere to stash D's weapons and armor. She checked underneath the slab she was on, looked all around but there was nothing. She finally tip-toed over to the small door and chanced to open it. A bathroom. An empty bathroom. Great. Nia raised a brow. Maybe that wasn't so bad. Surely they didn't intend to use this bathroom, but then again it had no compartment or anything to hide the equipment in. She couldn't take the chance, but she did use the toilet while she had the opportunity. Once she was done with that little piece of business, she rummaged through the bag and found what she was looking for. She produced Dteinou's hunting knife, a frightening weapon to behold with its long black serrated blade and big black handle. She seemed to recognize it as her eyes went round at the sight.

"This is for you, and I got something else too. I know he didn't get all that shit in you, so you'll be ready before they know it. I need you to fake it for me girl. You gotta act like you want these bastards to fuck you eight ways from Sunday, and then kill his ass right when he ready to cum, you got that?" Nia whispered again, although the anger in her voice was unmistakable.

She went through the bag again, pausing when she thought she heard something, then resuming when it turned out to be nothing. Nia pulled out a small bottle of a liquid and gave it a little shake.

"That doctor gave me this and said it counteracts that shit they gave you. He told me you had to swallow it, all of it. You ready?" Nia asked Dteinou while she positioned the bottle to the yautja female's mouth.

Before Dteinou could understand and respond Nia was already pouring it into her mouth. She held both hands over D's mouth to make sure she swallowed it all. The female didn't struggle. She simply did what was asked, and that made Nia very nervous. It was scary to see Dteinou like this. She hadn't known her long, but Dteinou just didn't seem the vulnerable type at all. Once she was sure Dteinou had ingested all of it, she positioned the large knife near the big yautja's hand. In the dimmed room it was difficult to see, and the matte back finish of the blade did not draw the eye. Nia made sure to tuck it between Dteinou's body and her arm such that the handle was pretty much in the palm of her hand. She gave her hand a pat, and leaned over to kiss D on her large forehead and right between her eyes. She said no more as she made her way back into the relative safety of the ceiling to wait.

* * *

Nia was roused out of her approximation of sleep by the sound of shuffling. She kept completely still as she opened her eyes. She peered down between the slats to see the shorter of the two back again. Earlier she'd heard them fighting and arguing about what to do with Dteinou. Vor'mekta had made it known that she wasn't to be raped and beaten anymore so close to the trading post where she wouldn't fetch a good enough price if she was found to be too used. They had decided upon selling her if they could find the right kind of buyer, but if not they would have fun simply killing her slowly. Selling her, Vor'mekta contended, would be more humiliating than death. She looked forward to death, but slavery was another matter. So it had been settled, but apparently the shorter yautja wanted one last fling.

The shuffling was the sound of him removing his lower armor and codpiece. He lay it gently on the floor before quietly releasing her restraints. One by one he unlatched it and the metal bands retracted into their housings. He climbed on top of her and forcibly parted her legs. Nia didn't want to watch, but it was a trainwreck she couldn't turn away from. He began to purr as he entered her roughly. He kept a hand over her mouth so that she wouldn't make any loud noises as he raped her. Dteinou's eyes were staring off and vacant. Nia watched more in hopes that the drug had worn off and that any minute now she would spring into action, but that wasn't happening. She was just lying there being violated again, seemingly without any sense of defending against it.

The ordeal dragged on seemingly forever. Nia was disgusted at just how much this male seemed to enjoy this. He was grunting and muttering something about how she'd deserved this for what she did, and how they should keep her around to be their sex slave. Dteinou remained vacant and unresponsive in the face, but Nia detected movement. It was just slight, and nothing the male would have noticed while he was so distracted by his own actions. Her hand slowly gripped the handle of the large blade, while the rest of her body still looked relaxed. Nia thought in this situation that she herself would have fully engaged, giving the bastard the time of his life before stabbing the shit out of him, but Dteinou was playing it differently. He was most content when she did absolutely nothing. Engaging gave him the green light for beating, and that wasn't the desired outcome.

Dteinou's body may have been relaxed, but Nia was winding up like an old alarm clock as she watched. She was holding her breath as her hand inched towards her own blade which she kept at the ready. By now he had really gotten into it, driving with all his force into her, and he had even loosened his hand from over her mouth. Dteinou remained still, her eyes now completely focused on a point above her. Her hand had a good grip on the knife now, and she carefully turned it so that the blade was in prime stabbing position. Both the women waited, and now Nia understood what they were waiting on. Dteinou was waiting until he orgasmed. So she'd heard her earlier and was implementing the plan perfectly.

If the earlier escapade was any indication, this one thoroughly enjoyed his orgasms, and tended to extend them as much as possible. It would prove fatal tonight. He quickened his pace a bit, and Nia tensed. Dteinou seemed to relax even more if that were possible, letting her body be pushed and pulled with his every movement. Then with a muffled grunt, he came. He held up one of her legs just under the knee as he did so, and rose up a little to look at the defeat in her face. Whatever he was expecting to see, it wasn't the determined look he met with instead. It was too late now. Her movements weren't as fast as they would have been minus the constant physical and sexual assaults, but she was plenty strong enough. Nia watched as the matte black blade sunk into his side, was withdrawn, and sunk again into his abdomen before he could fully realize that playtime was officially over.

It surprised him. Vor'mekta said he'd drugged her again, but these were not the actions of a drugged and submissive female. This was Dteinou Thei-de, and she was coherent and worst of all she was angry. She went to stab him a third time before he backhanded her and managed to roll off of her onto the floor. He scrambled to punch the buttons that would restrain her to the metal slab again, but it was too late for that. She was moving slowly and sluggishly, but she was up. On wobbly legs, she managed to stand over him. Fine. He kicked at her knee, not breaking it but instead making her fall to the floor. He scooted backwards with one hand holding his bloody stomach, and sliding up the wall to help him stand.

"Come on you pauk'de bitch!" he screamed as he kicked her in the face. She fell back but she never winced in any pain or stopped trying to advance on him.

She stood again, still unstable on her feet. She was zeroed in on him with a laser focus, and death in her eyes. Her grip on the handle of her blade was tight as she crouched a little into a defensive stance, and beckoned for him. If she hadn't been drugged before and suffering from various wounds, cuts, and bruises she would have charged him and finished it. He was mortally wounded. Her hunting knife was more than a foot long, was sharp enough to literally split hairs with, and she had sunk it all into him to the hilt twice.

The problem was that she didn't have the strength or stamina to devote to a long drawn out fight. She needed to finish this fast, and cursed herself for not slitting his throat first. As it stood her vision was slightly blurred from the pounding headache she was suffering through at the moment. Movement made her dizzy, and the sudden adrenaline rush of being in a fight to the death had her nauseous. Her mandibles hadn't healed very well, and her privates were aching. She could feel her blood and his seed running down her leg. On the bright side she had a weapon in her hand, and she had the male who had violated her in her sights. The human had done well to secure her blade for her, and had done even better to stay out of the way now that the fight had begun.

She waited, but he was smart enough to stay put. He'd gotten to his feet and was now brandishing his wrist blades. He was snarling flaring his mandibles, but she didn't miss what he was really trying to do. She watched as he slid his way across the wall, trying to get to the doorway. Not on her watch. She moved to block the door and his snarl got deeper. She'd expected him to call for backup, but his pride wasn't going to let him do it. She was a female who had already been beaten and drugged into submission. If he couldn't handle her in her current state, he wasn't fit to live anyway.

Once he saw he would have to actually fight her, he stopped holding his profusely bleeding stomach area, and stood up straight. Dteinou flared her mandibles in a silent challenge. From the ceiling Nia had watched it all unfold. Dteinou was weakened severely and although she'd managed to stab this idiot, he was still up and trying to fight somehow. Dteinou couldn't withstand this kind of fight, and furthermore too much ruckus would alert the other. Dteinou would be killed and herself along with her. She had to do something. It was just like in the streets back in Chicago. You couldn't let your girl get jumped and not help her. With this in mind, Nia maneuvered herself above where they were tussling with each other. The male had gotten on top of Dteinou, and he had her leaned back on the slab as he tried to choke the life out of her. He'd grabbed the hand holding the knife and was banging it on the edge of the table in an attempt to get her to drop it, but she was holding firm.

Nia moved a panel of the ceiling. Just before she made her move, she cut a long piece of cloth from the bottom of her shirt and held it tightly in her hand. She took a deep breath, placed the handle of her knife in her teeth, and jumped onto the short male's back. Quickly, she took the strip of cloth and wrapped it around his mouth like a gag and held on for dear life. Surprised, he started to flail at whoever had jumped on his back. He let go of Dteinou in order to drive backwards towards the nearest wall. He slammed into it with all his remaining force, which was enough to knock the wind from Nia, but she held on anyway.

Dteinou didn't waste a single second. She rushed over and immediately stabbed him a single time through his throat with the tip of the blade protruding just out the back. His knees buckled but Dteinou held him up with a hand over his bleeding, wheezing throat. Nia held on as he flailed weakly at both of them. The blood bubbled through Dteinou's fingers. She looked him in the eyes, before taking the knife to his genitals. First, she lopped off the penis, then one by one his testicles. The left, then the right. His eyes nearly fell out of his head as he gurgled a protest that bubbled through Dteinou's fingers again. Nia watched as his member rolled across the floor, and heard the two testes land on the floor with a wet squelching sound. As he crumbled into a gurgling, bloody, broken mess, Nia finally felt safe to let go. She climbed off his back and made her way to Dteinou who was swaying on her feet.

"D, are you alright girl?" Nia asked. She was checking the yautja over and then ended up with the tall female's face between her hands.

Dteinou's eyes were kind of wild, and her breathing was shallow and fast. She kept looking at her handiwork, and avoiding eye contact with Nia.

"D. Look at me. We gotta get you in your armor, okay? We gotta do it fast before that other bastard catches on. D!" She whisper shouted, and that got the big yautja's attention.

Nia's heart broke at the sight, but still strangely heartened by it. In her eyes was a profound sadness that Nia didn't know she could ever see in the face of a yautja. Nia could see the mixture of shame, embarrassment, humiliation, and degradation in her face. However, she hadn't shown that to those males, and that made Nia proud. For a moment Dteinou cast her eyes down, then gently turned her face out of Nia's grasp. Nia cast a glance at the dead male before moving around to get the armor.

"Here, I brought your stuff. We gotta get you dressed," Nia said, gathering the bag and laying out the armor.

Dteinou couldn't wait to put something on. Hurriedly, she placed on her chest and shoulder guards over her body netting. She ignored her physical pain which the armor only exacerbated, and put on every piece. It wasn't everything, but she felt closer to whole and being herself than she'd felt in what seemed like forever. Nia kept looking at her with a worried look, but Dteinou didn't want to feel as if she needed pity, or help, or saving. She did her best to square her shoulders and stand up straight, but the images of everything she'd gone through kept flashing across her mind in vivid little horrible snapshots. How she'd gotten tricked into this position, how Setg'in had beaten her, taken her voice from her, how he'd sold her to some of her worst enemies, and worst of all how she'd been violated repeatedly. It threatened to overwhelm her, but she couldn't be weak. Vor'mekta would not be unaware for long and when she next met him, she needed to be thinking clearly, not about all the things that happened to her.

She looked up to see that Nia had disappeared into the bathroom and come back with a wet piece of cloth. She stood in front of Dteinou with it, and slowly reached up to her face.

"Here, you need to clean up a little," she said, looking up at her strange friend. Dteinou said nothing, her eyes no longer reading any emotion. Nia sighed heavily.

"Don't. Just don't. Let me clean it," she said softly, and she saw Dteinou relent. She leaned down a little and let Nia do whatever she was going to do.

She had to admit it felt good. The cloth was warmed by the hot water it had been dampened with. It soothed her aching mandibles, and wiped the sweat from her crest. It even felt good when Nia pressed it against her swollen brow ridge and cheek.

"Alright, that's all I wanted to do. It's not too much but…" Nia said trailing off. What could she say? Alien or not, what do you say to a female whom you witnessed be sexually assaulted? She had just been through one of the most demoralizing things any female could endure, and there were no empty condolences to offer. So instead of talking more, Nia slung the now relatively empty bag on her back and waited on Dteinou to make a move.

"Thank you," a strange woman's voice said. It had come from Dteinou's mask, but it was not her voice. The accent sounded Jamaican, and it was devoid of fear. It actually took Nia a while to put it together that this was how Dteinou was forced to communicate now, and that she was directing it at her.

"No thanks needed. Somos amigas," Nia said, giving her a brief but genuine smile, and rubbing her arm affectionately. Dteinou nodded and didn't say anything else. She turned towards the door and strode out, sword in hand, as if she belonged there. If they were to live, she could not afford to wait until Vor'mekta came for her. It was best if she made the first move. Death might come tonight, and if truth be told, she hoped it would come for her shortly.

* * *

Vor'mekta sat in his private quarters, listening. He'd heard it when his clan brother defied him and went to have Dteinou again. He figured he would deal with that little piece of insubordination later. After all, if the clan was to be rebuilt, he couldn't have this kind of blatant disobedience. He heard a bit of shuffling which was to be expected, but it was the silence which alerted him. He hadn't used that whole syringe full of drugs on her, so she should be fighting but there was nothing. He waited a little longer, then a smile lifted his mandibles. There it was. The slightest sound of an angry female yautja on the prowl. She was as strong as he remembered. For her to be up, and he was sure it was her, was nothing less than a miracle brought forth by Paya. He placed his mask on his face and stood up. He would have to mourn his brother later. Right now, he had an old score to settle. There would be one last effort to subdue her, but if that didn't work he'd kill her. It would be a loss to all yautja, but it had to be done.

He walked to the door as it slid open silently. He cast a look around and saw her and surprisingly a small being walking right behind her. The scent of fear was heavy in the air, and it was distinctly human and female. So somehow a human had boarded this ship without anyone's knowledge, and apparently it was here with Dteinou. He had been mildly agitated as he had expected some sort of escape attempt, but having been unaware of the skulking presence of a dimwitted ooman had him beyond livid. They were headed to the ships controls, so he decided to meet them there.

They were quiet. The ship wasn't big so instantly they both figured some kind of trap was in the works. Finding Vor'mekta, or him finding them should have been quick, but the ship seemed abandoned which was impossible. Dteinou stopped short at the controls, and checked her gauntlet. On it she saw a small blue light blinking. T'chnde. He must have placed a tracker on her armor, which meant a distress beacon if she knew him as well as she thought. She hesitated a moment before sending that signal. She didn't want to admit being in a distressed state, or being at a distinct disadvantage but the reality was that, that was exactly the state she was in. Furthermore, there was Nia to think about, not just her wounded pride as a warrior. She hadn't spared the little human just to have her killed. Not to mention this so called little human had risked all to help her, and had done an admirable job of it. She didn't know what good it would do. T'chnde wasn't the most powerful or most skilled, but he wasn't a coward and he was extremely intelligent. Maybe he had something planned. She set off the signal and not a moment too soon.

"Hello my Dteinou. I told you no one would come to help you and that you would not escape. I don't know what you thought to accomplish having this pathetic ooman with you, but she will die first," Vor'mekta said as he materialized behind Nia. He'd come up behind her and placed a hand over her mouth. He now held her in a deadly one-armed embrace with her back to his chest.

Behind her mask Dteinou's eyes narrowed. She felt the adrenaline course through her veins and wipe away all aches and pains. She stood a little taller and growled deep in her chest.

"That's the Dteinou Thei-de I know. Come then!" He said as he tossed Nia to the side against the wall like a ragdoll. Only her trainee armor saved her life.

With a tremendous roar which her mask could not fully contain or muffle, Dteinou charged him.

* * *

T'chnde had closed some distance between the two ships, when Dteinou's distress signal went off. So the feeling in his gut of not having much time was accurate. He used the signal to help override the bad bloods ship and docking sequences. He set his own ship to autopilot and tether, so that it would not drift aimlessly in space and be lost. Some of his best pieces of technology were here, much of it his own creation. Hastily, he got up and punched a button on the wall just next to his ships control panel. The door opened onto a small compartment which consisted of a single occupant vessel. Not meant for long travels, this small vessel was typically used only to land on a nearby planet to start the hunt. There was no room for movement. It was like getting into a coffin. It had just enough air supply for about two weeks, a line for a small amount of water enough to live on for that time, a distress signal and beacon to call any nearby yautja ships, and no food. It was also equipped with a small engine that could be used to aim it or change its trajectory for a safer landing zone, but it could not be piloted in the traditional sense. It could be used in emergency situations as a last ditch effort for survival if anything destroyed the main ship you were on, but nothing more. If no one found you within that two-week span, you would suffocate and die, and that would be the end of you.

T'chnde had modified his for better aiming and propulsion and he hoped it would serve him well now. If the signal had gone off she was in deeper trouble than at first believed, and she was now trying to escape. It worried him, but gave him hope also. If she could send this signal, that meant she was still alive, and she had placed some trust in him to help her. He strapped himself into the small pod and made sure the other ship would accept him when he got there. He matched the sequence, and released his hatch. Like a cannon, he shot out into space. With only his instincts and loosely placed coordinates for landing to guide his pod, he aimed it as best he could. With a vibrating thud, he hit and attached to the hull of the bad blood's ship. It was a perfect landing. He had attached right over the ship's small docking hatch, and the ship had accepted his vessel. Once the two ships decided it was safe to open the hatch, it did with a hiss of the airlocks. And T'chnde stepped out, ready for a fight. He didn't see anything, but he heard it coming from the front of the ship. They must have been fighting in the cockpit. He rushed past a series of rooms, stopping to see a dead male with his genitals on the floor swimming in a large pool of his blood. Good.

T'chnde cloaked himself. When he got to the cockpit he took a quick inventory of the situation. Nia was struggling to get up off the floor. It looked like she'd been knocked around pretty good given the banged up condition of the inferior armor she was wearing. Whatever had happened, she was alive and breathing and seemed ready to charge at the big yautja male. Speaking of him, he had Dteinou on the floor, and was trying desperately to stab her with some syringe. She had her armor and mask on, so he couldn't see whatever damage she had sustained, but whatever it was had been more than enough. Extending his combi-stick, T'chnde rushed over. He delivered a crippling blow to Vor'mekta's back. The yautja male howled and turned, knowing that such a blow had to come from another yautja. T'chnde waited until he turned to face him, as he uncloaked in a haze of crackling electricity.

"Who are yooouuuu…..?" The question trailed off into screams as T'chnde drove his spear tip through Vor'mekta's heart and lifted him high, before throwing him down to the floor like so much trash. He let loose a roar of his own, before going over to the dying male and taking his head off with the other end of his stick which was a wide, flat blade.

He turned towards Dteinou who had scooted herself to lean with her back against the ship console. He rushed over and kneeled beside her. Gently removing both his mask and hers. As soon as he did, she spit up a bit of blood and turned her face from him. He didn't allow it. He grasped her face between his large hands and brought his forehead affectionately to hers, and began a long loud purring. At first her back was stiff. She was ashamed before him. She was ashamed of thinking so little of his skill, and even more for thinking so little of his feelings for her.

"Do not turn from me Dteinou, let me help you," he said softly to her as he gently caressed her face and head. She let out a low, mournful sound. The same sound Nia wished not to hear anymore, but thankfully it didn't last as long this time.

Nia got to her feet, wobbled over to Vor'mekta's headless body and spit on it before watching the two yautja's reunite. It was touching and she was brought to tears by it. T'chnde helped Dteinou to a seat, and continued to purr and caress her. Nia could see the big female's resolve wither away under this loving assault, as her shoulders relaxed, and she began to lean into his touch more and more.

"Why? W-why are you doing this?" the voice of a frightened female came through Dteinou's mask which she now just held in her lap. She was looking up at T'chnde and her eyes conveyed the same question.

He leaned down and nuzzled her again, before looking into her eyes.

"Because you are mine. Because I will never let you out of my life again. Dteinou, because….I love you," he said, before embracing her completely in his arms. She leaned into it, and breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe her nightmare was finally over.


	19. Change of Plans

"So that's where our supplies have been going," Kujhade asked from the relative darkness. He was sitting at the controls with the chair swiveled to face the hatch.

 _Oh shit!_ Jasmine thought to herself, as she swallowed hard. She'd just been caught in the act of coming from K'var's ship, a place Kujhade had expressly forbid any of them to go. No way to spin this around to look like something else. So since she was caught, she squared her shoulders to face the music.

"He's been hungry, and I couldn't…" she began before he cut her off.

"And that is your concern how?" He asked, as he slowly rose from his seat, to come towards her.

"I wasn't going to let him starve Jhade. Whatever happened, he doesn't deserve to starve because he was too hurt to hunt," she said, seeing that this wasn't going to end well.

"He hit you! He almost killed you, and you dare defy me in favor of him?!" Kujhade growled out as he moved directly into her space and glowered down at her.

"I told all of you to stay away from him, not to enter that ship, and here I find my own mate disobeying my orders?! How dare you?!" He said grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, and picking her up so that she was face to face with him.

"Put me down!" Jasmine screamed, squirming to get out of his grip, but she knew it was no use.

"I said put me down! I do what I wanna do! It was wrong to let him suffer, he needed food and I gave to him, and I didn't tell you because you're crazy Kujhade!" She yelled.

"You disobeyed me and I won't tolerate it! If you want to be with him so badly, then go!" He said, dropping her to her feet and stalking off in the direction of her belongings.

"What?! What the fuck does that even mean?! This is what I'm saying Kujhade, this is exactly what the hell I'm talking about, you're crazy! You've been walking around here with an attitude and you won't even talk to me. I can't even have sex with you because you've been acting so damn stupid!" She said running behind him to find that he was gathering her things, and only her things and throwing them in the middle of the floor.

"I can't have any mating with you while you sneak around with a yautja who nearly killed you. Do you think I wouldn't know what you were up to?" He said whirling around on her. Jasmine snatched a pair of panties out of his hand. She only had a precious few, and couldn't afford him to shred them in his claws.

"Okay, hold up. You talkin' mad crazy right now son. What exactly do you think I'm up to Kujhade?!" Jazzy stopped arguing a moment and folded her arms. It seemed they were having two different arguments. Kujhade roared in her direction and stalked towards her. Jazzy stood her ground still with her arms crossed over her now ample breasts.

"You think I'm fucking K'var don't you?" She asked. He roared again in frustration.

"Aren't you?! Why else would you constantly go down there? I watched the feeds because our supplies were getting low too fast, and what do I find? My own life mate, doing Paya knows what with my oldest pup!" He screamed and stalked up until his was towering over her.

There was dead silence, until Jasmine broke it with an incredulous laugh.

"I cannot fucking believe this shit. After all this time, and all the shit we been through you think I would just throw it away to fuck my husband's son? Are you fucking kidding me?" She asked. She didn't know whether to laugh, be hurt, or feel insulted.

"So what were you doing?" He asked, then growled as he settled his gaze just behind her.

While they were arguing K'var had made his way inside. It might have been stupid, but she'd left the hatch unlocked and he didn't like the sound of the accusations being leveled which concerned his honor as well as hers.

"How dare you come here when I commanded you not to ever enter this ship again?" Kujhade growled menacingly. The tension immediately rose, as Mar'cte and Lijia made an entrance.

Jasmine stood between them once again, and the memory of being hit and blacking out flashed in her mind. Kujhade refused to advance while she was there for fear of yet another incident. So he growled at her instead.

"Don't you dammit growl at me, and you're not gonna fight anymore! I'm tired of it Kujhade! K'var is sorry, he apologized to me and he just wants to talk to you. So if you attack him you gotta come through me to do it, do you hear me?!" Jasmine yelled to the top of her lungs.

Kujhade paused but still glowered at her. She could tell he was searching for things to be angry about, when K'var made a bold move. He stepped from behind Jasmine, walked right up to Kujhade, and to everyone's surprise he kneeled before his sire.

"I am sorry for my earlier behavior. I was out of line to attack you and your mate. I was out of line to speak to you in such a disrespectful and dishonorable way. Please forgive me, and accept me in your clan…..sire," K'var said to a room stunned to silence.

Kujhade was breathing hard and still scowling at his now kneeling son. It was a vulnerable position, meant to display complete submission and a vow of loyalty to whoever you were kneeling to.

"Kujhade? Please accept him. He never meant to hurt our children, and he's sorry for what he did. Please," Jasmine pleaded.

She looked around to see that Mar'cte and Lijia were also down on a single knee. She looked Kujhade in the eyes, and made her way slowly to K'var's side. She slowly got to her knee, then inched her hand towards K'var's which was flat on the floor, and gave it a quick squeeze. Kujhade was flabbergasted. Never in a million years did he believe anything like this would ever happen to him. His own life mate, who did not owe him this form of allegiance, and whom he had heavily insulted, was kneeling before him like a yautja hunter. Despite trying to hold on to his dwindling anger, his chest swelled with pride. Although he hated to admit it, Jasmine was correct. All this fighting and tension had to stop at some point. He wanted his son. He had always wanted a relationship with him. He had many things to teach him as far as the hunt, teach about different prey, and learn about who K'var had become in all these years. He was young yet, no more than fifty-six cycles old, and there was much that could be shared.

So instead of attacking, or growling, or making any other violent move, Kujhade leaned down and grasped K'var's shoulder. K'var snapped his eyes up both in shock and relief. He didn't know what Kujhade would do, but he was glad that he chose to accept him. He rose to his feet to look his father in the eyes. They stood with Kujhade's arms on his shoulders, until Kujhade couldn't take it anymore. He pulled his pup into a tight embrace, something rare for any yautja to do to another under any circumstance. K'var didn't react at first, but then slowly returned the hug. After a brief moment, they released each other and looked around the room. Everyone had gotten to their feet, and Jasmine was of course the only one with happy tears in her eyes. The other two yautja's came in to congratulate, as Jazzy moved over to give them some space. She was about to go see about the babies when she felt a large hand engulf her upper arm.

"Jasmine," Kujhade was about to say, until she screwed her eyes up at him, and snatched her arm away.

"I'm glad you made up with your son, but you accused me of fucking him, so we not about to make nice right now. Let me go," she said quietly and disappeared into the room.

He followed behind her, wanting to say more but not knowing how to begin. He had been around her long enough to know that he had hurt her feelings. It was still new territory for him to traverse, but he had to correct this somehow. He watched as she got down into the pit with the boys who squealed their delight at her presence.

"Yayayayayayayayaaaaaahhh!" Mili screamed. He was on his hands and knees trying to crawl. Next to him, Marcus had managed to turn over and had lifted his head to watch his brother.

They'd gotten so big. At only four months old they were the size of eight month olds and were about as strong. Jasmine could tell they were highly intelligent also. They were already making sounds that kind of resembled words, both English and yautjan. She was trying to teach them to say 'momma' but it only came out as 'yaya' and that's all Mili ever wanted to say.

"Come on Mili! Get those little legs going! Crawl, crawl,crawl!" Jazzy cheered him on. He screamed again, then tried and failed.

"Yaaaaaahhh!" He screeched as he sat back on his butt and smacked the floor in frustration.

"Here Mili, look at mommy," she said as she got on her hands and knees and crawled. Round and around the pit, she crawled much to the amusement of her babies who were watching her and laughing up a storm. She loved to hear them so happy.

"Come on Marcus, come on Mili. Follow momma," she coerced, and she watched them move back into crawling position. Their laughter died out as they began to actually study what she was doing, and mimic it.

Marcus was first to actually crawl. He furrowed his small brow and clicked his tiny mandibles in concentration. He glanced back at his mother, then put one chubby little knee before the other. Soon he was a pro and was crawling circles around Mili. His competitive streak already making a show at such a young age, Mili grunted a few times and got going himself. Jasmine stopped to watch them as they quickly picked up on what to do, and were out of the pit and headed towards the door. Kujhade moved out of the way to let them pass. Jasmine ran after them, worried that they might get into something dangerous.

"Jhade watch them!" She said, trailing behind them.

"Kujhade, these are very strong sucklings," Mar'cte said as Lijia nodded her head in agreement.

"Yes, I can see. Usually it takes more than a cycle or two for them to crawl and walk. I can't believe it," Kujhade replied, awed at his own pups.

Just then Lijia produced two soft balls, and rolled them across the floor. Immediately the boys caught sight of them, and gave chase, squealing in victory once the toys were captured.

"Hey, my babies aren't little doggies, don't make them fetch!" Jasmine complained to Lijia, although she was smiling brightly.

"This is essential to their training. They must gain visual tracking skills as the first step to developing the natural skill they need for hunting. You must teach them this, the best way you can," Lijia replied, going to get the balls and rolling them in another direction. The boys were all too overjoyed to be chasing them. After a while, Jasmine stopped worrying behind them, and settled for casually watching them to make sure they didn't try to eat whatever they could crawl to.

* * *

Later that evening they all sat to a meal which Jasmine and Lijia prepared. The males sat together, laughing at the few hunting stories K'var shared, while at the same time giving him tips for the next hunt. Eventually, they all went their separate ways with Mar'cte and Lijia headed back to his quarters, and K'var disappearing into his own. This left Jasmine and Kujhade after she'd put the overactive twins to bed with a bellyful of milk.

Kujhade waited for her to climb into the pit with him, but when she did she scooted all the way over to the edge. He hoped all the good food and talk had made her forget his earlier foolishness, but apparently he wouldn't get off that easily. He slid closer to her and tried to touch her arm, but she moved from his grasp.

"Don't touch me. I didn't forget what you accused me of," she said quietly, as she turned to face him. Even in the dark, he could see her hurt feelings in her eyes.

"How could you think that I would do that to you Kujhade? I would never cheat on you. We have kids together and everything, it really hurt me that you could think that," she said.

"I….I'm sorry Jasmine. I just didn't understand why you would wish to help and trust someone who'd just hurt you. I gave a clear order, and you disobeyed. I thought the only reason you would do that, is if you wanted to find a new mate. You listen to me, and this time you did not," he explained. He hoped she would understand how he felt. She seemed to think about it in any case.

"He was hungry. I've been hungry before so I know how that is. You nearly killed him, he would not have lived if I hadn't done something. I know you know that," she said.

"I was trying to kill him for what he did,"

"Aren't you glad you didn't though?"

"Yes. Thank you again. This is the second pup you have stopped me from killing," he said, and he seemed saddened over the fact.

After he said that, she could no longer hang on to her anger. In fact, she could never stay mad at him no matter what he did. She reached over and caressed his face. There had been distance there since she woke up. She could tell that Kujhade needed to talk to her, to express his feelings as much as he could, but he refused to do that once he thought she'd been cheating. He couldn't always find the words to express his thoughts, but his eyes and demeanor always told the story if she paid close enough attention.

"Well don't worry about it now. I know you love your kids, and now you have your whole family. I'm not going anywhere, Jhade," she said, speaking softly before landing a gentle kiss on his lower jaw. Suddenly, she pushed him down.

"Now, you still have to pay for insulting me though. Lay back and don't resist," she said with a somewhat forceful tone.

Immediately the room was filled with his mating musk, as he laid all the way down while staring intently at her. Jasmine was a little taken aback by his instant arousal. Apparently, yautja males could only be pushed around by female mates who bore their children, because this type of forcefulness would be met with overwhelming anger and violence at any other time.

"What are you going to do?" He asked, with an unfamiliar uncertainty in his tone. Jasmine resisted the urge to smile, this was going to be so hot.

"Something I should have made you do a while ago. I haven't had anybody lick me since I was on Earth, and that's just not good enough anymore," she said as she maneuvered herself to straddle his chest.

"Lick you?" He asked, but he thought he knew what she was talking about. She'd mentioned it before, but she never exactly explained it. The only thing she ever said about it, was that he had too many sharp teeth to do it.

"That's your damn punishment. You have to learn how to lick it up, and if you bite me I'm gonna hurt you," she said, her voice a little huskier with lust. His eyes gleamed at the thought of yet another kind of sex position.

Jasmine inched up until her sex was hovering over his face. She undid the short skirt she had on to reveal her naked form to him in all its glory. He reached up to grab a handful of ass.

"Ah, ah, ah. Keep your hands down. You don't get to touch me with anything but your mouth right now, got it?" she said assertively. She was really getting into it, especially with how extra compliant he was being.

He was literally trembling with anticipation. He had longed for something like this. Finally, he was going to get to taste her instead of just smell her wonderful scent, and he was going to get to have it from the source. She'd said it was a punishment, but this was going to be something he thoroughly enjoyed, so he didn't see how it was supposed to be bad. In the end it didn't matter. If this was what she considered punishing him, he would have to find other ways to insult her. For now though, she was lowering herself over his mouth and he couldn't wait. He opened his mandibles suddenly which gave her pause, but she didn't give up. She let him scent her as he wished, before lowering herself all the way.

With a deep rumbling growl in his chest, he explored her with his long thin tongue. He used his lower tusks to massage her dripping core, the flats of them rubbing against her gently as he opened and closed them slowly. He was finding a rhythm, and she could barely contain a moan from escaping her. It was going much better than she imagined, and she had just thrown her head back, when a persistent and loud series of beeps emanated from the ship's control panel. Ignoring it, Jasmine began an excruciatingly slow grind on his face, but to her great disappointment he stopped. Gently lifting her off of him, he rose to a sitting position in a huff. It sounded like an important incoming message, but it would have to be the matriarch herself not to have a life threat leveled at them for this horrible timing. Jasmine whined her disapproval as she lay back to see what the alarm was all about.

"I am sorry Jasmine, but I think I need to answer this message," he told her, and she could see he was very sorry indeed that they'd been interrupted.

He strode over to the controls and pressed a few buttons. In short order, a life sized image of a very aged looking yautja was seated in front of the console. Whoever it was, was sitting on a large chair which Jasmine could only identify as a throne. Without any hesitation, Kujhade fell to one knee and brought his right arm over his chest. He sure was glad he'd kept his codpiece on.

"Dhi'rauta, matriarch. To what do I owe the honor?" He asked, still bowed low.

The image of the matriarch seemed to scan the room, and her gaze landed on Jasmine, who was staring wide eyed at the scene. After a long hard stare, the image spoke.

"I see I have reached the correct arbitrator; the pale one with the human mate. You were named by Bakuub before his death were you not pale hunter?" She asked, and now Jasmine could hear and see the femininity of the one speaking to her husband.

"Yes, honorable one," he said, and the image seemed to become less severe after his reply.

"Please, rise to your feet and dispense with the formality. I have a task for you high arbitrator. My second in command, Dteinou Thei-de was sent to your former clan to investigate the circumstances surrounding the deaths of Bakuub, and The Old Hunter. It has been much longer than usual since I have received any communication from her, and that is highly unlike her. She is dutiful as well as powerful, and she would not lightly cast aside her responsibilities. I have received word of a distress signal coming from the second quadrant of the Vizjrei system. This area is home to one of the most notorious trading posts we know of," she said, getting right to the point. Just in front of her shone a 3D image map of the system, and approximate region where the signal had been discovered.

"What would you have me do Dhi'rauta? We were actually on our way to Yaut Prime to meet with you and discuss this very subject…" Kujhade asked, as she held up a dismissive hand. It was as if she were telling him, that it was all fine as far as she was concerned.

He rose to his feet to examine the map she spoke of. He knitted his brow in concentration. He had never met Dteinou, but her reputation preceded her as one of the most honorable and powerful hunters across the clans. She must have been who was speaking to Setg'in in that harsh authoritative tone on the audio feeds he'd listened to.

"There is no need to come here. I am aware of more than you know, and I know you are no bad blood. Setg'in has long sought a higher status, and he will do anything to achieve it. All that I require is for you to find Dteinou Thei-de. If she is dead bring her body to me, as well the head of her killer. If she is alive, assist her with whatever she may need," Dhi'rauta commanded. Kujhade bowed his head again.

"I will most certainly do what you have commanded," he said solemnly. She nodded, gave Jasmine one last look, and then the image faded away.

"So, that was the matriarch?" Jasmine asked quietly, her lust mostly forgotten and placed on the backburner.

"Yes, and now we must set a different course. We may go to Yaut Prime at another time, but now I must do as she asked," Kujhade said as he took a seat and set the proper coordinates.

"We are not too far from this quadrant. If I set the ship properly, we should be there in two days or less," he told her.

Jasmine strolled over behind his chair, rubbing his hard chest as he got everything together. She kissed the top of his head as she watched him work. Watching him be serious made her hot all over again, but the mood had been blown to pieces. He grabbed her hand with his own and pulled her around to sit on his lap. She did and made sure to rub her butt on him seductively as she did so. Jasmine leaned back on him and craned her neck to kiss his neck and under his chin.

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you Jhade, even though you manage to piss me off sometimes?" She asked jokingly. He chuffed his amusement.

"Yes, you always express your love for me even though I can still hardly believe it. When I am done with this, can we resume my punishments?" He asked as he cast her a sideways glance.

"Oooh, I think somebody likes having their mandibles between my thighs," she moaned silkily as she turned to face him, and straddle his lap.

"It is more intoxicating than c'nlip, and I love c'nlip," he replied, standing and lifting her. He walked her back to the pit they shared, and laid back with her on top. He couldn't wait for her to take charge again, and she didn't disappoint.

* * *

The warm water cascaded down her back, face, and head as she leaned her forehead on the wall in front of her. She'd been in there for more than an hour, and she still didn't feel clean. Dteinou grabbed the soap and washed herself again. She started right at the source of the filth; between her legs. It hurt. Everything hurt from her cut tendrils, to her breasts which had been kneaded and twisted roughly, her mandibles which were still swollen, her arms, legs, and back all hurt. She felt like she'd been on a continuous hard meat hunt for days on end with nary a moments rest. As she reached her hand to scrub her privates as gently as possible, she was trying not to recall how she'd been violated. She had never even mated willingly, although she had long ago found the male which she thought she would life mate.

T'chnde was wonderful. He wasn't the most decorated hunter, but he was tall, strong, brave, and stunningly handsome. Everyone chided Dteinou for choosing him, when she could have had the best hunter, but she didn't care. Long had he been seeking her attention, bringing her rare gifts just before each mating season. He brought her the shell of one of the most dangerous marine animal on their planet. The animal was small but fierce and attacked in groups to defend their queen and home. T'chnde had dived into deep and dangerous waters to procure it, and had numerous stings and scars to boast. She kept it as a treasure which only she could enjoy.

Dteinou had everything going for her. She was the most skilled hunter in her training classes and had recently passed a difficult chiva, having aided in killing a hard meat queen and destroying the entire hive nearly single-handedly. Females in her position could choose to either bare pups first and then pursue a career as a hunter, or vice versa. At first Dteinou thought only of hunting. She'd watched her clan sisters become bearers, and while that was a noble station, she didn't know if it was a good fit for her. That was until T'chnde started coming around. T'chnde's father was of notable rank among the hunters in his clan, but while T'chnde was very good at hunting, his love was for technology. He was very intelligent, and often found technological advantages to overcome his prey. His weapons were always the most uniquely modified, and he used to bring Dteinou some of his creations. Like the time he brought her a modified smart disc, which collapsed in on itself making it possible to pack many instead of one or two.

It was that last mating season which changed her life forever. The cycle before, they had decided to exclusively mate, and that Dteinou would birth only his pups. It was for all intents and purposes an engagement for life mating, and when he left Dteinou set about making plans for her life with him. Her elder clan sisters warned against this, stating that a female of her rank and pedigree had a duty to contribute to the strength of the clan by taking the top ranked hunters as the sire's for any future sucklings. However, Dteinou's mind was made up. If it had not been for T'chnde wooing her, she would not have mated anyone at all. Dteinou's heart was with the hunt and the thrill and excitement of the kill. It was only for T'chnde that she had even considered it. As much as she hated to admit, she had fallen in love with a common hunter, and despite her clan's misgivings she would life mate him until her death.

It was soon after he left for his year long hunt that she started having problems. She hadn't told anyone, but when a female was in heat she produced a small amount of blood as well as a distinct mating musk, but her musk was very minimal and she didn't produce any blood at all. Just for precaution, Dteinou decided to see a doctor to make sure she could even birth pups, and that is when her world crumbled at her feet. The doctor told her she would never birth pups, because her womb was malformed and unable to sustain a pregnancy. Dteinou got angry, threatened his life and stormed out to get another opinion, but it was all the same. Every doctor had the same diagnosis. It took months for her to accept that. It was different when she had a choice to be a bearer or not, but now that had been stripped from her. She thought about T'chnde, and found that as the time drew near for his return, she could not face him and tell him that. It was the only time Dteinou could recall being a coward. She'd set her clan sister to deliver the news, and out of guilt and shame never tried to make amends with T'chnde again. The years just kept passing and she drowned her memories and feelings in the blood of her kills. Relentlessly she sought through the hunt and eventually through serving the matriarch, the honor which she'd lost when she left T'chnde behind without an explanation.

The water kept beating down on her body, as she tried not to think about it anymore. She had lost all of her honor now. He'd saved her, and she could not even tell him how much it meant, how sorry she was for all that had happened. She could not ask now for the forgiveness she needed, and that she should have asked for a long time ago.

The door to the bathing area of T'chnde's small ship slid open, but Dteinou did not turn to see who had entered. She kept her face turned towards the wall, wanting nothing more than to be left alone. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, then it turned her slowly around. It was of course T'chnde, but even now she refused to look at him. He cupped her chin gently, and lifted her gaze.

"You've been in here a long time, my love," he said quietly. It almost killed her to hear him say it, and see the look in his eyes.

 _I'm sorry!_ That's what she wanted to say. She wanted to scream it, say it quietly, whisper it to him, write it in a letter, but she couldn't. All she could do was look into his face, as he removed the soap from her hand and stepped all the way into the shower to fold her into an embrace. She couldn't help now, making that low mournful sound. It was as close to crying as an adult yautja could come, and it only made T'chnde hold her tighter. He was only a few inches shorter, so she could lean her head on his shoulder with ease.

T'chnde couldn't believe it. Even though it was under less than desirable circumstances, he had the love of his life in his arms right now. He stroked her back, and tendrils soothingly, until she quieted down and just let him hold her. She lifted her head and looked into his eyes once again.

"I'm sorry," she tried, and when he seemed puzzled she repeated it until he finally understood what she was saying to him. He stared at her a long time, a sea of emotion swirling in his eyes. He grabbed her face between his hands, careful not to hurt her.

"I forgave you cycles ago Dteinou. You have always been my life mate, no matter what. There is nothing to forgive anymore. We will have revenge upon Setg'in, and I vow on my honor that I will not leave you again, and I will die before I let harm come to you such as this," he whispered to her with conviction.

It melted all her resistance. He was vowing not to leave her, when it was she who had done the leaving. Despite all the pain and trouble, his loyalty to her after all this time strengthened her resolve. Instead of allowing herself to be held, she tentatively reached her arms around him. Wrapped in each other's embrace, they sank to the floor as he purred and comforted her until she fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the super late update everyone. I've been having trouble finding the time to complete chapters, and make sure they are okay before just slapping them up here. Thanks for sticking with me so far, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I'm trying very hard to maintain the momentum of this story, while at the same time giving you a breather from non-stop fighting and conflict. As usual your feedback is both appreciated and important to me, and I thank all my readers, the followers, the faves, and the reviewers!**


	20. Kept Vows

**A/N: First I want to start by begging for your forgiveness. This chapter was hell to write for many reasons, not least of all the time it took to write it. I just couldn't seem to find time, and when I could, I couldn't seem to actually write anything. I revised it, and rewrote it forever it seems and I'm still not completely pleased with it. This has been my longest span of time between chapter updates for any story I was actively writing, and for that I apologize. That isn't my usual way of doing things, and I will try my best not to let more than a week pass without an update. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

Nia watched Dteinou as they landed on the trading post planet. They had all agreed that the two males they'd killed had probably been expected by someone to have Dteinou as their prisoner, so it wouldn't do for her to show up there in anything less than chains. Around Dteinou's neck was a thick collar with a short chain. The plan was that T'chnde had to act as the seller, and Dteinou and Nia had to be the commodities. Nia had expected Dteinou to react possibly with violence against the entire idea given the recent events and trauma she had endured, but she showed no sign of discomfort. When the plan was presented she had simply nodded stoically, and prepared herself. Nia herself hated the whole idea, even though it was partially her own, but she knew all three of them couldn't come through there like gangbusters and shoot up the place. They had to play it smart, and this was the smartest play.

The ship landed with a soft jolt, and immediately Nia could feel it rock as the harsh winds battered it mercilessly. T'chnde engaged the anchor to keep it from being slowly pushed to another location as they handled their business, and he closed the hatches around the thrusters to keep the sand out. He turned in his seat to cast a look at Dteinou who was taking the ships systems offline, so that it couldn't be easily detected. He reached over and laid a soft hand on her shoulder. She turned towards him, and gave him a single nod which seemed to Nia to be telling him that she was alright. This female was remarkable, and it filled Nia with even more anger that she'd been mistreated. Here Dteinou had gone through so much, and even after all that, all she could talk about was her vow to Nia to help her find her sister. Grant it, all the talking was done through pre-recorded sound bites, which creeped Nia out to no end, but the sentiment was understood.

"So are we all clear on what is to happen? We go in and I do all the talking. No matter what I say, just know that it's an act only," he said to Dteinou almost apologetically. She gave a single grunt in response and squared her shoulders. _Don't worry about it_ , that move said.

"Are you sure this needs to happen Nia? We should be returning to Setg'in to get rid of him, not here. Your sister is likely dead, and we risk the same fate here if we are not extremely careful," he asked her once again. This was the second time, and even though her initial reaction was of anger, she could understand why he asked. After all, neither of them had anything to gain by helping her on what might be a fool's errand.

"It most certainly has to fuckin' happen. You two can stay in the ship or go back home, but I have to do this. I _have_ to," she replied, and hoped they didn't take too much offense.

"Okay, but remember not to speak. If you are too assertive, either of you, then we won't be able to find information without a fight. It may come to that anyway, but I prefer to leave this wretched planet alive with both of you, and the sooner the better," T'chnde said as he gathered some cloaks for all of them.

"The conditions here are treacherous, so we will need these, and we will need to hurry. We aren't too far outside the gates, so we should be there shortly," he said again to which both females nodded. He handed each of them a thick cloak and donned one himself. He attached a chain to each woman's collar, and held both ends in one hand. He opened the hatch and Nia had to immediately cover her face with the hood of the cloak. They took a quick look around, and then set out in the direction of the trading post.

* * *

K'var, Mar'cte, and Kujhade were checking their weapons and armor as the ship came within a few hours of the trading post planet. It seemed to Jasmine that they had hit a sort of lightspeed or faster to get there. As they made their approach, K'var went to undock his ship and fly it solo. Meanwhile, Jasmine was watching the twins crawl around and get into everything. Several times she had to stop them from helping each other into the console seats to get at the controls. At first it was cute to watch them when she was sure they couldn't figure it out. However, it stopped being so hilarious when Mili managed to get to his knees, and when Marcus actually made it up onto his brother's back then his shoulders. They ended up tumbling backwards and hitting those big heads on the floor, but instead of crying as she rushed to help them they cackled their little baby cackles and tried to do it again.

The babies were the only ones not feeling any pressure. The tension was palpable as they neared the target. Kujhade had warned her that it will come to a fight if he finds that Dteinou is there and either dead or in a compromised situation. He took the matriarch's mission very serious, as did Mar'cte and K'var once he enlightened them on the change of plans. Mar'cte had come into the room and greeted Jasmine with a slight nod before addressing Kujhade.

"Brother, do you think we will really find Dteinou Thei-de here? From what I know of her, she's more than capable of taking care of herself," he asked as he followed Kujhade to control panel,

"In that case it is more serious than we think. If the matriarch was worried about it enough to contact someone to come looking, then Setg'in has done more harm than we could have imagined Mar'cte," Kujhade said as he prepared the ship to enter the small planet's atmosphere.

"So, what do you want us to do? I mean, I've been listening to how dangerous you say this planet is Jhade. I need to be able to protect our babies," Jasmine said with a hint of worry.

"Do not worry. I will leave both K'var and Lijia here in case anything happens. I need you to be on your guard, and not leave the ship under any circumstances, do you understand?" Kujhade turned to say to her. Jasmine nodded, but he could tell she wanted to say more.

"What if….what if you don't come back?" She asked in a small voice and he could hear her voice waver, as if she were on the verge of tears.

"I have every intention of coming back, but if I do not you are free to make a choice. You can take the ship back to Yaut Prime and raise our pups there, or you may go back to Earth although I would ask you not to do that. The oomans will take our pups and experiment on them and…." his voice trailed off as he thought about the various scenarios that could play out back on her home planet.

"On second thought, do not take my pups to Earth. Oomans are too curious and hate our kind too much. You will not have any peace there. Go to the matriarch if we fail our mission. She will appoint someone to help you adjust to life among our kind," he said, his tone final. It hurt to hear it, but Jasmine always liked to hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Living on the streets taught you that if nothing else.

A couple of hours later, and they had landed on the planet's surface. Just looking out of the large panoramic window was enough to make Jasmine never want to step foot out there. The wind was whipping all the sand around to the point of near invisibility. She couldn't hear it, but she could feel the ship gently rock back and forth like a tree swaying in the wind. She watched as Kujhade and Mar'cte donned thick cloaks which covered them from head to toe. Jasmine ran up to him just as it appeared he was going to leave. Not surprisingly, the twins were right behind her. They crawled quickly, racing to get to their parents, and when they reached Kujhade, they got on their little knees and reached up for him, nearly clawing their way up his body via the cloak he wore.

"Come here my sons," he said, reaching down to grab one in each hand. They purred and talked in their little baby babble, both to him and to each other. He purred back to them and cuddled them close.

"You two be good, and do not drive your bearer to madness while I am gone," he said, chuckling as they seemed to be actually paying attention. They both looked at Jasmine and smiled cutely, but it seemed to her a little mischievous. As if to say she had no idea how mad they were going to drive her.

"I think you just gave them several bright ideas Jhade," she said, smiling and taking them from him. Not wanting to be held, they squirmed their way to the floor and crawled off, no doubt into trouble. Jasmine reached for her own hug, as Mar'cte chuckled behind his mask at the open display of affection. Jasmine stuck her tongue out, causing Mar'cte to tilt his head in consideration of her gesture.

"Come back to me Kujhade. You're a big time arbitrator, so I don't expect anything less. Bring me a trophy if you want to," she said, and could tell by how stiff he became, that he was surprised. She'd accepted trophies before, but had never actively asked for one.

"This is a recovery mission, not a hunt so there may be no trophies. It isn't my first consideration in any case," he answered. Jasmine just patted his armored chest and nodded, smiling up at him.

"Riiiight. You're going out to do some killing but there won't be any trophies? Whatever Jhade, I want a trophy sweetheart. Love you," she said kissing his mask, and finally stepped back to see them off.

"No kiss and a plea for trophies from me Lijia? I'm disappointed," Mar'cte laughed, but was pleasantly surprise when Lijia did come up to him and gently shake his shoulder, and softly patted his masked face.

"I know how dangerous this place is Mar'cte. Kill all in your path, and bring the skulls of your kills, so that we may clean them together," she said softly.

"I will," he said solemnly, then briefly turned towards Kujhade, then the door as he waited to get the mission going.

With all the sentimental goodbyes said, Kujhade opened the doors and filed out with Mar'cte close to his heels. Jasmine stood to the side, then hurried to the large window to watch them leave until she couldn't see them anymore.

* * *

"What have we here? Another fucking yautja, this one with fresh meat," the gatekeeper said, with a wry smile. He motioned for the gates to be opened, the pulley system noise competing with the low howl of the wind.

"Just open the pauk'de gate and keep your mouth shut!" T'chnde said in a very convincing rough tone. It was very much in contrast to his usual mellow and laid back way of speaking.

"There it is, the foulest temper in the galaxy. Just take care of your business and leave. The sooner the better!" The gatekeeper yelled over the din of the wind and the gate pulley.

Without saying another word, T'chnde entered, shoving and driving the two females before him in a rough manner. Nia shot him a look but he paid no attention to it, and entered the trading post proper. Once inside, the gusts of wind died down as the walls took the brunt of the force. T'chnde cast a look around. It was crowded, and aliens of every description flooded the wide streets. They parted at the coming of the trio, with male aliens ogling at Dteinou and the fact that a female yautja was not only there in the flesh, but apparently subdued.

"Hey you, yautja hunter. Over here," T'chnde heard a voice call from one of the market stalls to his right.

"Look down," the voice said and when T'chnde did he was taken aback. This alien was small and hunched over a walking stick. It was thin and was staring up at T'chnde with extremely large blue eyes. Its head was large and round with only a few wisps of hair blowing about in the wind. It wore ragged garbs which barely covered its thin grey form, yet he didn't seem to be bothered by the steady gusts of wind.

"The master waits for this one, yes, this one here," it said as it pointed a long bony, gnarled finger that boasted too many knuckles. He was pointing directly at Dteinou. He then moved that finger to point at T'chnde himself.

"Although you are not the ones master sent to retrieve her. Where, may I ask, are Yaga, and Jeor, hmmmm, where?" The skeletal alien asked, as it cocked its head to the side, and squinted a single eye.

It dawned on T'chnde then what he was looking at. He'd only ever really hunted adolescent ones, but this seemed to be an elderly D'rhan. He now understood who Yaga and Jeor were. He stood a little taller and turned fully towards he old alien.

"I killed them," T'chnde lied, and it seemed to shock the elder D'rhan, before he narrowed his eyes again suspiciously.

"You killed them? Both of them, yes, both?" He questioned as he looked over the trio. T'chnde didn't respond, but then didn't have to as the elder seemed to brighten suddenly.

"Well, no matter, no, no matter at all. I am Daun. You follow me, yes Daun, you follow to the master. He will see, yes, he will see," Daun said as he crooked the finger now to beckon for them to follow.

Without questioning, T'chnde followed along. This alien had stopped him because of Dteinou's presence. They were obviously part of the same group of the D'rhan originally sent to purchase her. However, given how dangerous D'rhan were known to be, he did not let his guard down for a single moment, and he could sense that neither of the ladies had either. They trailed behind while Daun babbled endlessly. T'chnde noticed the four legs underneath the long ragged cloths he wore. He took them through the labyrinthine twists and turns behind the stalls of the main throughway. Everything was dull and filthy and full of sand, as if it had existed for eons without ever being cleaned or tidied. They passed all manner of alien life forms, mostly female and almost all slaves of one type or another. T'chnde was disgusted at the sight and the smell of it all. As they went along, he became aware that Dteinou was dropping something every few yards. Motion sensing bombs which also served as electronic breadcrumbs. He smiled underneath his mask. He didn't know what mind state she was in right now, given her recent trouble. It was Nia who had secretly described the wretched details of her capture, which made this particularly difficult, but Dteinou had gained her reputation for a reason, and this was it. She was doing something that even T'chnde had not thought to do.

Finally, they ended up in the depths of the maze-like streets and back alleys. It opened up into a small circular clearing, covered by a large tarp held up by a very tall center post, and six or so other posts along the outer edge. Inside along the walls created of nothing more than dusty, flimsy fabric, were makeshift beds with females chained to them. Nia surreptitiously took a look around hoping to see her sister, and when she laid eyes on her twin she had to use every ounce of self-control not to rush to her side. Her attention was drawn away from her sister at the approach of a very tall alien male. He looked like the elder which led them there, only obviously younger, taller, and stronger. He was a good foot or two taller than Dteinou, very thin, and now Nia understood that the rags on the elder were really the tattered remains of his wings. The younger D'rhan wore the same "cloak", with similar patterns. It was black, with swirls and patterns of iridescent greens, golds, and reds. It was only when he fluttered and readjusted them around himself, that Nia realized that they were his wings.

For long moments what the trio assumed was the master, stood and regarded them each individually. His large eyes scanned them, paying the most attention to Dteinou. With a quick movement, he reached to pull back the hood of her cloak, but she moved her head and couldn't help a growl. He seemed to smile with his small mouth, and turned his attention to Nia. She shied away, hoping that he wouldn't see her face. She and her sister were identical twins, and she feared that if he noticed that too soon, that their cover would be blown before she could be saved. Eventually the alien's glare settled on T'chnde who didn't move a muscle.

"So I am to believe that you were the one who bested Yaga and Jeor to retrieve this female?" The master asked. His voice had a buzzing quality, and Nia's translator could barely keep up.

"It doesn't matter what you believe," T'chnde said. The Master regarded him coolly, and started meandering around the area with his hands behind his back.

"Yaga and Jeor were powerful, yes, very powerful for one such as you to take down alone, yes, by yourself you say," he said as he walked around and stroked the faces or bodies of the females he had chained up. Those of them with any remaining strength or consciousness shied away from his touch, but there were many who seemed drugged or mentally checked out, and they did not react at all. He stopped at an empty space and turned towards the trio.

"I've brought the female, but I have a proposition. I will give her to you in exchange for one of the females here," T'chnde said, much to the D'rhan's amusement. The master smiled, and the elder outright chuckled.

"Zatani does not make deals, no yautja, no, I do not make deals with liars. You did not kill Yaga and Jeor, no, but you know who did, yes, you know who did!" he screamed as he half ran and half flew towards them, and laid his hands on Dteinou's cloak.

He was trying to grab hold of her cloak and he did, but she wasn't in it anymore. Suddenly four more D'rhan made an appearance seemingly from nowhere to surround them. With the cover now blown, T'chnde and Dteinou let out loud roars, as Nia tried to make her way to her sister Tia, but she was blocked by one of the aliens who immediately knocked her back several feet. She shook her head and got to her feet. Underneath the cloaks they were all armed, and Nia brandished the knife T'chnde had given her. It was large in her hands but hardly seemed effective as the alien slowly advanced upon her. She could hear the screams of the captive females, and the loud clatter of a battle taking place, but Nia's mind was only on two things; killing this alien and saving her sister.

* * *

They had made a safe landing and were already halfway to the gate. They were cloaked and made it all the way up to entrance without detection. Kujhade sent a quick signal to Mar'cte to move to his right, and K'var to stay near to his left. They kept a good watch on the movement of the guards on the towers, then each of them took a leap over the top of the gate. It was a slight risk, but the gate was the shortest point along the wall, and the only place where a leap like that was possible.

After all three had made their way inside among the throng, they each uncloaked and began a search. They split up as they had discussed, with their wrist gauntlets already synced to each other's position. Kujhade moved towards the center of the filthy marketplace. His head was on a swivel for any sign of any struggles or any other yautja. He had been given very little information, so anything amiss was going to be investigated, and any trouble would be handled quickly. The crowd once again parted at his advance. His spear was out although not yet extended, and his mask scanned the crowd before him. He made it to the large intersection, where a huddle of small buildings sat together. Music was wafting out as was the smell of food cooking. It wasn't anything appetizing, and Kujhade decided to complete the search outside before going into any buildings where a trap could have easily been laid.

"Have either of you seen anything?" He asked, as Mar'cte and K'var answered in the negative.

"What about you sire, what have you seen?" K'var asked, and Kujhade had to keep focus on the task, and not be sidetracked by the feeling he got whenever K'var addressed him as sire.

"No, I don't think she is this way if she is here," Kujhade said. Just then he perked up. His head on a swivel as he looked around, alerted.

"Did you hear that? It came from near you Mar'cte," Kujhade said as he turned towards the sound. Even over and above the general noise, he thought he could hear the noise of fighting.

"Brother! I think I found some friends!" Mar'cte shouted, and then Kujhade heard a loud roar.

"Sire?!" K'var questioned as he made his way towards Mar'cte's position.

Kujhade raced towards the position as well. He leaped over market stalls, and temporary erected walls to get there. When he made it he found that the tower guards had Mar'cte surrounded, or so they believed. There were ten of them and one Mar'cte, but Kujhade could hear him click a bit of laughter. It was humorless, but instead was filled with the inner joy of being able to kill after being cooped up on the ship for so long. Even so, Kujhade thought he could use a bit of assistance. He turned to see K'var run right into the fray.

"K'var, stay here with our brother, I will keep looking," Kujhade said, but as he turned, he was confronted by a flying alien. One of the guards. It brandished an electric prod-like weapon and charged him. Three triangular dots aligned on its chest, and in a matter or moments it exploded into small charred pieces and fell to the ground. Kujhade's roar echoed through the streets, followed by Mar'cte's and K'var's as they dispatched an enemy each in similar fashion.

"K'var, you stay and help Mar'cte take care of these guards, I will search for Dteinou if she is indeed here," Kujhade commanded, and raced off to do exactly that.

He switched views on his mask, and set it to search for any sign of fresh yautja musk or scent in the air. It immediately zeroed in on his comrades, and he promptly ignored it. He got a little further away from them, but when he found that that type of trace was useless, he switched again. Quickly, he set his mask to scan all known DNA types for all the species that he'd hunted, but even that was useless as the throngs of aliens and all the current biological material in the area made it impossible to hone in on one single instance. _Time to track your quarry the old fashioned way_ , he thought to himself. He switched his mask to normal vision, and took some high ground on a nearby rooftop. It creaked under his weight as he landed on it to take a survey of the layout of this place. He tuned out the fighting going on between his comrades and the guards, and he also tuned out the low hum of the crowd below. He turned his head this way and that, trying to catch sight or smell of anything that might point him in the right direction. He was about to jump down and just move in an arbitrary direction until the smell hit him. Kujhade tilted his head and took a big whiff of air. The strong gust had brought it to him, a scent he hadn't encountered in almost twenty cycles; D'rhan. Not just any D'rhan either, these were adults. If Dteinou was here, the D'rhan would know about it, if not have her in their possession.

Immediately, Kujhade cloaked himself, and got on the move. He leaped from rooftop to rooftop, and cleared walls. He paused only to take quick sniffs of the air to make sure he was still moving in the right direction. Below him the narrow streets and pathways were a maze choked with aliens moving to and fro, dealing in their filthy commerce. As he neared the target he began to hear the familiar sound of fighting, and he pressed on ever faster to reach it.

* * *

Right before her eyes, the alien stalking her was blown to bits by Dteinou's plasma gun. Nia turned to give her a thank you nod, but she was busy tangling with two of these insectoid aliens, and wasn't having all that easy of a time with them. Nia noted how fast and how strong they seemed to be. Quickly, she tried to skirt around the fighting to get to her sister whom she spotted weakly struggling against her restraints. Just as she got within a few yards, the elderly alien blocked her path.

"No, you will not go anywhere, no, nowhere to go. You will die here!" he screech-buzzed and jumped towards her.

He was easy enough to dodge, but he was still faster than her. His wings no longer worked to fly, but they did aid in the speed of his movement, propelling him towards her. Like a mantis, two pair of legs had serrated edges and he used them to try to grab Nia. She dodged and rolled left, then right, but he was prepared for that. He caught her and brought her close to him. He made a buzzing noise, almost like laughing as he raised his other deadly appendage, ready to run her through. The sharp edge of his leg was digging into her waist, and Nia could feel the blood trickle down her side. In desperation, she began to hack at the arm holding her at the joint. She didn't think the knife she held would do much since the alien's hide was an exoskeleton, but the knife cut through after two or three strikes, spraying a hot whitish liquid all over her face. Screeching he dropped her as he backed away. He began to turn, when Nia gave chase.

"No you don't you little Sméagol looking motherfucker, get back here!" She shouted, the anger of having been cut, fueling her along. It stopped and turned, gave her a once over and then immediately took off in her sister's direction.

"Fuck!" She exclaimed as she chased him again. This time he cut the chain holding her sister to the bed, then grabbed her up with his uninjured leg.

"Now I see why you have come, yes, she looks like you yes. Part of the same colony I say, yes, Daun says part of the same colony," he sneered.

"Put her down you little ugly piece of shit, or I swear…!" Nia shouted, shaking from adrenaline and fear of what he was going to do.

"You will do nothing, no, not before Daun does something. Yes, be afraid. Be helpless!" He said and with that, he ran his long sharp appendage right through Tia's midsection from the back to the front.

Nia's eyes bulged in horror, and instantly hot tears fell down her face. Tia did not even have the strength to plead for her life or scream out in pain. Without thinking, Nia ran headlong at Daun, who unceremoniously dropped her sister to the dirty ground and tried to hold his position. Nia was all over him in the blink of an eye, cutting anything she could and yelling unintelligible curses in his face. Daun was overwhelmed by the onslaught. He tried to scramble towards where the other two yautja were, in hopes that Nia would let up in the midst of the melee, but she wouldn't let him go. She had one of his rear legs in her hand, and was hacking her way up it. White milky blood coated her hand. Little pieces of his leg rolled away and became coated in the sand as she made her way up to his rather large abdominal area. His screeching became frantic buzzing, as she carved his abdomen until his guts spilled from it. He flailed in his death throes, trying to cut her with his deadly grasping arms, but she held them down, and finally with a cry of anguish and pain erupting from her, drove the knife to the hilt into his large round eyes repeatedly until there was nothing left of his head but mush, and what must have been his brains.

After she was sure he was dead, she clambered off of the carcass, dodged a plasma blast which just missed her head, and made her way to her sister.

"Tia, Tia!" She said frantically as she grabbed her sister and cradled her in her lap. Weakly her sister looked up at her. It tore Nia's heart in two. One of Tia's eyes had been blinded with a large scar running vertically over it. Some of her teeth were missing, and her light skin was riddled with all manner of bruises and cuts. The shackle that held her ankle, covered a festering wound which Nia could smell.

"N-nia," she whispered as she brought a feeble hand to graze her sister's face. Tears flowed freely, leaving behind streaks of clean through the dirt caked on her face.

"No, Tia stay with me mamacita. Please…please" Nia pleaded as she rocked her sister in her lap. "Don't leave me, please don't leave me," she cried miserably, ignoring the complete chaos around her.

"I love you Tia, I love you soo much, so much…" Nia wailed as Tia smiled faintly, and the life left her eyes. Her body went heavy, and Nia broke down into heart-wrenching sobs.

Dteinou and T'chnde had put down one D'rhan a piece, but their master was still among the living. He was smart, strong and fast, not to mention cloaking doesn't work on D'rhan. T'chnde moved to flank the group of aliens so that he and Dteinou weren't sitting ducks, and that the attacks could come from more than one direction. The master moved to block him, but T'chnde brought up his spear and knocked him back. He buzzed something in his language and tried to grab the weapon away from T'chnde, but he got stabbed through the arm for his trouble. T'chnde pressed the attack, driving the D'rhan back against the wall. His plasma cannon needed to recharge and it was slow going, so all he had was his hand weapons. Just as he was about to deliver a blow to end it, the alien took flight and slipped away. With a growl T'chnde watched his flight pattern. Adult D'rhan in their prime were able to spit an acidic substance, not too different in constitution than hard meat blood, so T'chnde was on the watch for that. On cue, a glob of reddish liquid landed just at his feet and sizzled on the sand. He was watching as the alien circled above him. He made a big show of swiping upwards with his spear in order to conceal the fact that he was making his net gun ready. The D'rhan actually laughed as T'chnde missed swipe after swipe, but the laughter died when he suddenly found himself entangled in a net which was twisting and constricting around him. He dropped to the ground struggling as white blood began to seep along the strands of the net. Caught like the overgrown bug he was, he struggled but that only made the net restrict and cut deeper. T'chnde stood over him, gave a short victory roar, and brought the tip of his spear down into the D'rhan's neck and severed his head from his body.

He didn't have time to revel in any triumph. He turned to go towards Dteinou who was now pinned down by the other two, although she was holding her own. He knew that she was still weakened by her ordeal and it showed in her fighting. The Dteinou he knew would have already killed one, and been working on the other in grand fashion. Today she was slower than usual, but her ferocity was the same as it had always been, and it was helping keep the D'rhan from pressing in with a full assault. They were purposely tiring her out by flying just out of her reach and grasp. She'd launched her net and missed, and her plasma gun had been knocked from her shoulder. Nia was still kneeling next to what T'chnde assumed was her dead sister's body. He came close to Dteinou to help, but she only gave him a warning growl and went back to watching the two aliens flit about above her. One swooped to grab her, but she rolled out of the way while bringing her disc up and tossing it at him. He moved and she caught it with a frustrated growl. She jumped to her feet just as the other made a pass high over her. He was getting ready to dive bomb, but Dteinou caught it off guard when she took a huge leap and caught him midair. In a heap they fell to the ground, and she made sure that it took the brunt of the fall. It was dazed when she punched it twice in the face, and then with a ferocious roar she twisted the large head until it separated from its body with an audible pop, then yanked bringing the thorax with it. She held it in one hand while watching the other D'rhan get ready to spit acid at her. She hated to do it, but she unsheathed her sword and tossed it at the creature. She was completely surprised to find that right at the moment of impact for her sword, it had been blown to pieces by a plasma blast. She snapped her head towards T'chnde, ready to give him a piece of her mind until a large pale yautja landed between them, and roared at T'chnde, while taking a protective stance over Dteinou.

The sound of fighting had increased as Kujhade got closer, and sure enough there were D'rhan on the scene. Adults, by the look of it and they seemed to be causing no end to problems for the yautja's on the ground. He shot the last one out of the air, and jumped down in the midst of the carnage. Dteinou he recognized from the files given to him by the Matriarch. The human seemed a bit familiar, but the other male yautja was a complete stranger. Kujhade roared a challenge immediately, arms splayed and beginning to circle T'chnde. The slightly thinner male responded in kind until Dteinou roared out also.

"Stop!" Came the shouted order of a male's voice from her mask.

Kujhade unwillingly stopped his circling and cast a wary eye to Dteinou. T'chnde stopped, but didn't like the way this one had just come in and threatened him.

"You are Dteinou Thei-de are you not?" Kujhade asked. She nodded, then tilted her head. She had never met him before.

"The matriarch sent me to find you. She'd pinpointed a signal in this region and we followed the trail here. Is this male threatening you, is he keeping you prisoner?" Kujhade asked letting off another warning growl and turning suspiciously towards the other male.

"I am T'chnde and I am not keeping her prisoner I'm helping her fulfill a vow she made to this ooman," T'chnde answered.

"I didn't ask you! Let her speak for herself!" Kujhade shouted, but T'chnde stood his ground.

"She cannot speak. Setg'in removed her tongue before selling her to two bad bloods. It's a long story, and I see no reason to explain myself to you pale one," he said, puffing his chest and making his way to stand next to Dteinou.

"Setg'in did this to you? He removed your tongue and sold you like common trash?" Kujhade asked, to which Dteinou nodded in the affirmative.

"Then he has grown bolder than I thought, and more deranged. Who is the ooman you have with you? She is highly distressed," he commented as they all turned their attention towards Nia whose cries had not abated.

She no longer had any tears, but only moaning and whispering her love to her sister. Just then Mar'cte and K'var showed up and joined their leader. K'var was draped in various body parts around his body like a large necklace, and Mar'cte was busy picking a small barb or knife out of a wound on his arm. It was Dteinou who started purring first as she slowly made her way to the weeping human. She knelt down in front of Nia, Tia's body between them. Suddenly Dteinou lifted Tia out of her sister's arms, and grunted for Nia to follow. When they rejoined the small group, Mar'cte was shocked. The small human looked exactly like the human he had, and a quick look at the body Dteinou was holding confirmed it. He made no move however, content to watch what was about to happen, but only for a mere moment or so. At that thought, Mar'cte turned towards Kujhade.

"We need to leave brother. We've caused a great disturbance and as thrilling as it is, I don't have any desire to take on every pauk'de alien here," he said. Kujhade nodded.

"Dteinou Thei-de, the matriarch sent me to retrieve you but I can see you are among allies. Would you like to come with me, or stay with…"

"T'chnde,"

"T'chnde. Do wish to stay with him?" Kujhade asked. Dteinou nodded in the affirmative again.

"Then you need to at least report to the matriarch. She contacted me, concerned that you might have been killed. Now I see that she was right to have been worried. We will kill Setg'in, together if you want," Kujhade said, but before anyone could answer, Nia fainted. T'chnde grabbed her off the ground, and then just after an explosion rocked nearby.

"Sire, I believe it's time to leave this place," K'var said as they all heard screams, shouting, and footsteps running to their position. Quickly, Kujhade looked around trying to make an escape plan. If the whole trading post was after them, not all of them would make it out, and Kujhade could not afford to lose any yautja here today.

"Dteinou, T'chnde, you will carry the two humans while K'var, Mar'cte, and myself make way for us to leave!"

Dteinou readily agreed, as Kujhade and his clan brothers turned towards the sound of their enemies. All three of them cloaked and separated. A whole crowd of enemies burst into the small encampment, some coming through the alleyways, some over the low rooftops, and all of them armed and ready to fight and kill. Dteinou and T'chnde appeared to be sitting ducks until flashes of blue light could be seen coming from three different directions. The blasts kept coming in rounds, cutting down various enemies left and right, the bodies falling every which way. Dteinou and T'chnde made a run for it through the pathway created. They hated to be running away when there was fighting to be done, but there was really no other choice. Aliens ready to kill them all were almost literally crawling out of the woodworks, and they all needed to get away. They were going to go through the way they came in, but Dteinou suddenly remembered the motion sensors she laid down. They were breadcrumbs but they were also small bombs and would be going off now any second. She leaped upon a low rooftop, brandishing her sword in one hand after having adjusted Nia's sister in a fireman's carry. T'chnde followed suit just as those bombs started going off in quick succession. They all fought their way out, but the way was more or less cleared by the bombs. As the smoke rose up, they cloaked themselves and made their way to the gates. They found them standing open as the wind howled and blew sand everywhere. Dead bodies littered the entrance, no doubt the handiwork of K'var and Mar'cte. Kujhade stopped and began programming his wrist gauntlet to detonate. This place was where all the trash of the galaxy came to dump itself. The slaves here would be better off dead than in the captivity of their slavers, and they were as good as dead now anyway. The criminals who ran this place were on a warpath now, and no one was safe. So with that line of reasoning, Kujhade tossed the upper part of his wrist gauntlet into the middle of the street.


	21. Backstabber

Awkward. Jasmine wished there was a stronger word for this situation, but she couldn't think of a single one. Two more yautja and two human women, one deceased, had joined their merry band. Right now she was sitting across from the human whom she recognized from the clan ship. Nia. She looked worn, thin, in less than good health, and absolutely miserable. She kept her head down, not saying much except one word things to the large female who was also seated at the table. The female, Dteinou Jasmine heard her called, only gave her hard stares as if she were trying to figure Jasmine out. She hadn't said much, and Jasmine wondered if she could talk at all. T'chnde was the only one who introduced himself properly after having stored the cadaver in the ship's only single occupancy cold storage. Now they all sat in silence with one another, made awkward my either not knowing what to say or trauma.

"Does anyone want anything to eat or drink?" Jasmine asked tentatively, remembering her manners now that they had all taken off from that dreadful planet.

Dteinou did not even blink in response, Nia gave her a barely visible nod in the affirmative, and T'chnde replied that he was very hungry after all that fighting.

"I will help you sister," Lijia offered and Jasmine was grateful. Quickly they put together a platter filled with dried meats, a few fruits and veggies, and a large container of water.

"Everyone can help themselves. Kujhade, would you help me check on the babies?" Jasmine asked, summoning Kujhade into the room with her and letting the door slide closed.

They entered the small room quietly, careful not to wake the twins. Jasmine had gotten them to sleep and they had miraculously stayed that way even as the ship shook from the bomb blast at the trading post. Kujhade stood at the doorway, waiting for Jasmine to state why she had really called him in there.

"So, this ship is like filled to capacity. What's the deal? Are they gonna stay with us indefinitely or something? Our ship is too small for all of us Jhade," Jasmine fired off. Kujhade was expecting anger, but he could tell by the tone that she was simply concerned over the crowd they had now. In truth, he was also concerned over it.

"T'chnde's ship was damaged by the sands there. Got into the turbines and damaged one of the main engines beyond repair. I couldn't leave them. However, we have not determined our next move yet," he said to her. He had his arms folded over his large chest, and he looked perturbed. Jasmine came closer and wrapped her arms around him, making him open his arms so she could lay her head on his chest and listen to his thunderous heartbeat.

"What's going on? Tell me what has you so worried, and don't say you aren't because I know that look," she said softly into his chest. At her words he relaxed, and held her closer.

"We haven't talked about it, but there is only one thing left to do. We have to kill Setg'in. We already know where he is, it's just a matter of getting there and ending all this. In fact, it's my duty to rid our race of the likes of him, and I will be pleased to do it. First, I want to get you and our pups to a safe place. I can't have you in danger as I…" he was saying before the look on her face stopped him.

"Danger? Jhade I've been in that since day one. Besides, there is no safe place. We're in this together, all of us, babies or no babies. In any case where the hell would I go? I don't know anyone, and to be completely honest, I wouldn't trust them if I did. Nope, we're all going. Setg'in started all this shit, so I'm down for being present when he has to face what he's done to us. I wouldn't have it any other way, you know that right?" She said, and he couldn't help a grin. Of course she wasn't going to leave his side.

"I thought about taking you to Yaut Prime anyway, and having you stay under the protection of the matriarch," he said, but Jasmine shook her head.

"Stop trying to get rid of me. The matriarch doesn't know me, and doesn't owe me anything. It would take too long anyway I assume. We'll have time later for you to show me where you come from," Jasmine said, snuggling into his warmth. He thought for a moment before he spoke again.

"You're correct once again. However, we will need a bigger ship. One with a place to truly spar and train. Too many yautja in a tight space like this always leads to fighting and possibly serious injury or death," he mused to himself as much as to her.

"Where will we get one? There's not like a space ship dealership just floating around is there? Or is there?" She asked, genuinely curious now that she'd thought about it.

"I know where to get a larger vessel. A day's travel and it won't take us away from the target," he said as he gripped her a little tighter. He wanted to run his mandibles through her hair like he usually did, but today she had it different. She called it 'cornrows', although he had no idea what that even meant. He would have liked it better had she left it wild.

"Come my mate. We all need to discuss how we will go about killing this bad blood," he said, taking her by the hand and leading her back out to the group.

* * *

Setg'in stood in the large main hangar of the ship and took inventory. There were few left. Most of the hunters had left for hunts and never returned. He only had a small number of hunters who were loyal to him. Anara slithered her way around counting the dead warriors and directing a few others to pick up their remains. Setg'in had gone on the warpath again. He had called all the hunters to the hangar just a little while before, promising a choice to all those who wished to leave. When the vast majority went for their ships, he blew them to pieces with his two plasma cannons mounted on each shoulder, and destroyed their ships. The rest who opted to stay understood that the only escape was death. A few more opted for that choice, unwilling to be part and parcel of a bad blood and his workings. At that, Setg'in had Anara and a couple more of her Shirxa sisters take care of them.

It was tough, but he finally convinced her to call upon a few of her wayward kind. She reluctantly obliged. As soon as they arrived, he was trying to mate with them and set them as his personal guards. This made Anara angry and jealous, but he plied her with lies about how much he truly loved her, to keep her docile and compliant with him. It was barely working. She grew more distant from him as the days and weeks passed, and he became very wary of her in response. She had taken to disappearing on the large ship, and then showing up just as he would become concerned as to her whereabouts. Shirxa were cunning creatures, prone to jealous rages and possessive behavior over mates, but Setg'in had yet to realize just how much they were driven by such instincts and urges. He didn't understand that it didn't take much for a Shirxa to feel betrayed, or let down, or discarded, or in any way wronged. They were sensitive in the extreme, and vengeful. He would soon come to know, but at the moment it was a mild distraction only. He had bigger fish to fry. He had to unify his small clan under his rule unquestioningly, and he hadn't figured a way to do that aside from inspiring fear. The only issue with that, was that yautja were difficult to keep in line this way. It would have been easier to simply command respect, but Setg'in did not have that luxury. For all his wit and ambition, Setg'in did not possess any real leadership qualities, so fear it would have to be.

As he surveyed the carnage he had wrought in the hangar, his eyes brightened. He had one of his best ideas yet. There was only one other being in all the star systems which could give even a strong warrior pause; Berserker Yautja or super predators as oomans called them. It would be dangerous work, but he knew of a planet where a clan of Berserkers usually hunted, and it wasn't too far from where they were now. The berserkers did not take kindly to what they thought of as weaker yautja. He would have to tread lightly, and bring one of the Shirxa with him. Maybe Anara. She'd been acting weird as of late. Perhaps, he thought, if she were killed while trying to convince some Berserker yautja to fight for him with the promise of fresh meat for one of their hunting reserves, it wouldn't be such a horrible thing after all. He was formulating the details of an escapade like that, just as the Shirxa in question slithered her way towards him. She motioned her sisters to start picking up the bodies and throwing them out of the hatches into the void of space.

"Are you done Ssssetg'in?" She asked with an attitude, as she crossed her scaly arms over her breasts. He gave her a once over before he answered. He was really going to miss her in bed.

"Whatever would you be talking about Anara my love?" He asked feigning innocence. She narrowed her eyes at him, and let out a low hiss.

"You know well of what I ssspeak, do not play gamesss with me Sssetg'in. I do not fear you. If you kill all of your sservants, who will you rule over?" She challenged. Instead of replying, Setg'in turned and headed to the ship's main bridge. He was almost out of the hangar when an arrow whistled by him and landed just at his feet. With a low growl he turned slowly in Anara's direction.

"Do not walk away from me when I'm ssspeaking to you!" Anara warned.

"Or else what?" He retorted, delighted at the prospect of this sort of challenge.

"Or elsssse the next one goesss between the eyesss," Anara hissed as she raised her bow once again.

"You've gotten beside yourself Shirxa. Do not forget who gave you a life worth living. It was I who liberated you from that filthy den of criminals. You would still be there if it weren't for me," Setg'in said, approaching her and extending his wrist blade.

"I wasss fine where I wasss. I came with you because the sssex was good, and I thought you had sssome honor. I sssee now that you are nothing but a liar," she hissed out, as she swayed back and forth in clear agitation.

He retracted his blades and raised a hand to caress her face. She snatched away, but he only reached out again. Anara stopped swaying long enough for him to soothe her. Eventually, she slung her bow on her back and relaxed, but she was giving him a blank look that he couldn't readily discern.

"If we leave, could I trust one of your sisters to keep things in order for a little while?" He asked, in his most gentle tone.

"Miyaz is the eldest of us, she is trustworthy. Why?" Anara asked, a hint of suspicion in her voice. She'd seen his tricks, and was wary of his mood change.

"I was thinking you and I could take a little trip. I know there's going to be some consequences for killing Dteinou, so I have a plan and I want you to help me like you always do Anara," Setg'in said, taking his hand from her face and waiting on her response. After a second or two, she nodded.

"What are you going to do, and what do you expect?" She asked, slithering behind him as he placed his hands behind his back, and started out of the hangar.

"I expect that the Matriarch might send someone to look for her. If so it will be one of her arbitrators and most likely more than one. Since Dteinou is gone, the matriarch will take no chances on my escape or continued existence, so she will send the best. If they suspect you, my dear sweet Anara, I can expect quite a meeting which would only end in my death," he told her as they made their way slowly through the large clan ship.

Anara was listening but she was uneasy. The ship seemed much eerier now. There were very few, less than a hundred adult yautja left on the ship, she surmised. His footfalls echoed and bounced off the walls, and the lack of life and spirit seemed to twist in every dark corner. The corridors seemed longer somehow, and it felt colder even though the ship was maintained at a warmer temperature. He was still talking when she focused on him again. They had made it to the more private hangar where he now kept his ship.

"Are we leaving right now?" She asked. She hadn't told her sisters she was leaving, and she simply didn't trust Setg'in's intentions anymore.

"Not at the moment, no. We haven't told Miyaz we were leaving yet," he said absently as he got into his ship and began to look for something. Anara waited. No way she was getting in that ship right now.

"Good. I imagine the place we're going is highly dangerous," she said. He had disappeared inside, but came into view and gave her a smile that sent chills down her scales.

"Very."

"Well then I guess we better have a little fun before we go. We have not enjoyed one another in quite a while Setg'in," she offered. He gave her a seductive up and down, nodded, disappeared again, then reappeared. He had nothing in his hand, and a pit formed in her stomach. What did he just set up?

"I thought you were no longer interested in mating with me. What changed your mind?" He asked, reaching up and grabbing one of her breasts in his hand and squeezing it.

"A Shirxa is always interested in mating," she hissed, as she slowly coiled herself loosely around him. He smiled again, this time a little less chillingly, but just a little. She began to head to his private quarters when he stopped. Anara turned to him with a questioning look.

"No time like the present," he said as he stripped his clothing right there in the hangar.

* * *

It seemed super early in the morning although that was quite impossible to tell. Jasmine got up anyway, grumpy due to lack of rest, and headed towards the boys whom she could already hear running amuck in the room. She had to step over T'chnde and Dteinou who could almost have been said to be cuddled up, with Nia not too far away. They had simply laid down on the bare floor, having nowhere else to be. Jasmine slid open the door only to be greeted by two little faces smiling up at her from right at the entrance.

"Hey you two, what're you doing up huh?" She whispered to them as they gurgled happily at her.

She picked them up and took them to the bathroom to change their diapers. When she came out, she was startled by Dteinou who was sitting up and looking directly at her. Jasmine made her way back into the babies' room. She didn't want them to wake up the whole ship. Marcus looked ready to play, but Mili was cranky and only wanted to be fed. She'd just gotten comfortable when Dteinou appeared in the doorway. Jasmine only watched her. From everything she'd heard, Dteinou would not do harm based solely on her honorable reputation, but Jasmine was still tensed and ready to defend her own. Earlier at the 'meeting' they all had to discuss what to do next, the new additions to the crew looked at her and her children as if they carried a disease. Jasmine had expected that from the two yautja, but got much of the same from Nia as well. Nia was just as disgusted if not more so, but was too emotionally drained to really do much more than turn her nose way up in the air at the appearance of the twins. The familiar feeling of being ashamed of her choices and her children, crept over Jasmine but she fought it as much as she could. She may not have initiated the whole thing, but it was her life now, and she loved her husband and her children with everything inside of her. She would defend that love in many ways, she was now coming to understand.

"May I help you?" Jasmine asked finally, getting tired of simply being stared at. She knew Dteinou couldn't speak, but that was no excuse to be rude.

Dteinou stayed where she was, eyeing Mili with a look Jasmine didn't like at all. She readjusted him on her breast and stared back at Dteinou defiantly.

"He looks like his dad doesn't he?" She asked, figuring that was at least part of what was on the big female's mind.

Dteinou nodded, then tilted her head to the side as if to ask permission to come closer. A tad bit surprised by the show of at least a little bit of manners, Jasmine beckoned her inside. She stepped in, and now that it was just the two of them Jasmine could see clearly fresh looking scarring and bruising on the female's face. She would have to ask Kujhade later to see what he knew about it, although when the subject came up earlier, all three of them were tight as clams. None of them said more than what was necessary about Dteinou's capture, and that was decided by said yautja herself when she abruptly and forcefully changed the subject.

She kneeled down on one knee, an arm propped on the other as she continued to stare at Mili, then over at Marcus who had ripped the feet out of his Onesie in an effort to examine his toes, and possibly eat them if he could. They were certainly more than halfway into his mouth.

"I guess you wanna know why a) a human is life mated to a yautja, b) why we had babies, and possibly c) why we kept this one who is so clearly deformed, right?" Jasmine asked, unable to hide the sarcasm. By Dteinou's grunt, it wasn't missed.

Indeed, she wondered why the albino suckling had been spared. Dteinou stared at the pup, who seemed in every way like a yautja, and nothing like a human. Cycles upon cycles of tradition were ingrained in every fiber of her being. This was disgusting, abominable, and should have been made unlawful cycles ago. A hybrid could never be accepted, least of all one afflicted like this. Kujhade seemed a capable hunter, but surely he understood the life this pup would have to lead? His own life should have been all the justification needed to mercifully kill this pup before its life could be ruined. With all of those thoughts running through her mind, she couldn't seem to take her eyes from this ooman bearer and her pups. It seemed so strange that this small female would care for her young with such….tenderness. It reminded her of her clan sisters. Many of them were bearers, and they behaved in much the same way.

"I had to beg him not to kill his son," Jasmine said, bringing Dteinou out of her thoughts. She looked up to find Jasmine with a faraway look on her face.

"He'd taken him out of the ship while I was asleep. I had a terrible dream, and that's what woke me up," she said as she absently stroked Mili's face. He was purring in his sleep with a line of milk drool connecting him to his mother.

"He told Lijia to keep me away, but I didn't listen. I found him just as he was…just as he was about to drive a knife through his little heart. I had to beg him not to kill him because he was convinced that Emilio would not have the love of any clan, or any female, and that his life would be lonely and neglected like his father's," Jasmine said, sniffing back tears as she continued to caress Mili's face.

Dteinou waited for the human to continue. It was obvious she loved her pups, natural for any bearer she supposed, but the sire had been correct. This was the problem with mating outside the species. The bearers often did not and could not understand the very sound reasoning behind the choice to do away with a suckling like this. It may have seemed cruel to others, but then again others didn't understand a yautja's life. How fraught it was with peril nearly from birth. In all of the chaos, a clan was all a yautja had, all they could count on. A yautja without a solid clan was lost, and destined to a life suited only for a bad blood. Dteinou wished she could express this thought, but ultimately felt it would be lost on the human sitting before her.

Gently Jasmine lay Mili down asleep, next to his brother who had finished eating his feet, and was rubbing his eyes. She covered them and rose to her feet, making her way to the door. She turned when Dteinou did not immediately follow. The big female seemed lost in some kind of thought, until Jasmine cleared her throat to get her attention. Dteinou got to her feet as well, and went to the doorway also, casting one or two glances back at the pups. She was about to leave but Jasmine stood in her way.

"I know you can't say what you're thinking, but I already know. I don't have to justify anything to anybody about my life. Me and Kujhade are married, and we have two beautiful boys who will be great hunters like their dad. It doesn't matter to me how you or anyone else feels about it. You don't have to like it, you just have to accept it," Jasmine said and walked away, not caring to see any protest or funny looks. She got back into bed with Kujhade, and he immediately grabbed her in his arms possessively. Stunned, Dteinou also made her way back next to T'chnde, but unlike her human counterpart, Dteinou didn't sleep at all.

About two days later found Kujhade and his clan of misfits docking into another huge trading station. He'd asked Jasmine and Nia to stay within the ship, as the yautja in charge here was extremely averse to humans, and any other life from he deemed beneath their race. Kujhade had been sent to him before to obtain a smaller vessel for use on shorter trips, and was at least that much familiar with him. He, Mar'cte, K'var, T'chnde, and Dteinou walked abreast through the main hangar, right up to just before the doors to the ship proper. A large yautja materialized before them. He crossed his arms before him, and gave them all a severe glare, until his gaze fell upon Dteinou. Her katana and very expensive looking aw'usa gave her away. His look softened, and he raised a gnarled tusk in a smile.

"Dteinou Thei-de! It has been a long time since I have had the honor of your presence. Are you here to purchase a vessel for you and your friends?" he asked as he began to walk off. Dteinou nodded and followed. Everyone else traded surprised looks as they followed as well.

The yautja who seemed so happy to see Dteinou appeared to be an old warrior who could no longer hunt. The left side of his body seemed to had been burned or even melted away somehow, from the top of his head to his leg. His eye was blind on that side, his tusks gnarled and all but gone as well. His arm had been amputated, probably in an effort to save his life. He boasted a plethora of scars and old badly healed wounds, all of which he kept proudly on display. His deep gravelly voice rung through the hangar, his eagerness to please Dteinou evident in not only his tone, but in how he kept his eyes respectfully cast down whenever he addressed her.

"What size do you need Dteinou? You've caught me at a good time, I have plenty. If you all are traveling together, you might want a ship equipped with a kehrite and private quarters," he offered. They walked over to a panel over by the far wall, and he'd opened up 3D images of his inventory for her to peruse. As she was looking he turned to take stock of Kujhade, who pushed his chest out, and stared at the salesman.

"I am too old and worn for any challenges, but word of the pale hunter has reached even the far reaches of our clan ships. Some good and some bad, but if Dteinou Thei-de is tolerating your presence then the bad news was a pile of hard meat c'jit wouldn't you say?" He asked with a chuckle. Kujhade grunted, and with a shake of his dreads went to stand next to Dteinou to choose a suitable spacecraft.

"No, not that one. It has enough room only for us, but you forget my mate and pups. We need a larger vessel. Two kehrites at least," Kujhade stated, then watched to make sure she made the right choice. She nodded, then pressed a few buttons on her gauntlet. It might not be perfect, but she would try it anyway. Her mask had a pretty advanced translator and she wondered if it would translate her garbled speech, and repeat what she said into it. It was worth a try. All this forced silence was eating away at her daily.

"Ship, give to me this one," the translator said out loud as they all turned towards her. It was a generic yautja voice, certainly not her own. The salesman frowned deeply.

"I don't run a pauk'de give away, this is my business. I will not 'give' you anything. You'll pay with your credits like every other hunter or get off this ship!" He bellowed, but then took a step back when Kujhade growled and stepped forward.

In truth, Kujhade came prepared to pay. He didn't know why Dteinou was insisting on getting it for free, but assumed she had her reasons. He extended his spear and slammed the tip into the floor, coming close enough to make his intent known, without coming close enough for it to be an open challenge.

"Give, not pay. Saved life yours, owe me life debt," Dteinou's mask said calmly, and all of a sudden the salesman deflated. He would have been dead on that hunt had Dteinou not saved him, although at that time he wished she had let him die.

"Fine! You don't have to go all male hunter on me, so all of you can back up. Old L'thar still has one fight left in him, and he'll be glad to die with honor today," he growled out as he backed up and pulled a knife from a holster on his side. Chuckling, Mar'cte walked up to him and clapped him on the shoulder.

"There's no need for that old warrior, we don't need to fight today. We just need a ship, and it seems you owe the matriarch's second in command a life debt," Mar'cte said good naturedly. With a grunt L'thar replaced his weapon and motioned towards his inventory.

"Point to the one you want, and I'll send you the coordinates. You can take the pods, they'll come back on their own once you get out of them. Where's the ship you're leaving me?" L'thar asked.

Kujhade stepped forward and pointed towards the other end of the hangar.

"They're over there. Two ships in better than good condition. We'll only take a short while to empty them," Kujhade stated, as they all made their way back towards their own ships.

Jasmine estimated that it must have taken about three hours to do everything. She'd strapped the babies to her back, although they were almost too heavy and active for a sling of any kind. She sung to them to keep them calmed as she made herself responsible for gathering and placing their things and her own. The new ship wasn't as big as a clan ship, but it was huge. It boasted two full sized kehrite rings, more than a few trophy rooms which was what took most of the time to transfer from one place to another. There were also very spacious private quarters, more than enough for the couples, and the babies. They were almost done when there remained only one last thing to transport, which was Nia's sister's body.

Jasmine went over to Nia who was staring at the case her sister was in. It was made of glass, and inside the woman seemed to be only sleeping. Nia had taken the time to clean her, but when it came time to move her to the ship, she refused to do it.

"Are you okay?" Jasmine asked softly. She was surprised at the look of anger and the vehemence in Nia's voice when she spoke.

"Hell no I'm not okay, and what business is it of yours? You've got your perfect little fucking family, but I ain't got nobody!" Nia screamed into Jasmine's face.

"I was just asking," Jazzy said defensively.

"Well don't fucking ask! Get away from me!" Nia said, and turned to seek out T'chnde. Jasmine stared after her, trying not to take it personally, but it was personal to some degree. Yes, Nia was upset over her sister, but Jasmine hadn't missed the sidelong glances, and dirty looks over the past couple of days. Nia had been the ringleader among the women in their ostracism of her. It must have been hell having to now seek help from a woman she openly ridiculed to her face, and the yautja she was mated to. Jasmine decided to let it go for now, but another outburst like that would not be tolerated again.

After a short discussion, it was decided that Nia would hold a small service and burial for her sister on a nearby uninhabited planet. Nia only allowed Dteinou and T'chnde to stand with her over the burial site. T'chnde had taken it upon himself to dig the shallow grave, as he understood the human custom of burial. Nia stood between the only two yautja she had come to trust and care for, as she said her final tearful goodbyes. All three of them turned towards the waiting ship, and the night passed along silently as they made their way towards Setg'in's last known position.

* * *

Setg'in and Anara had landed on the planet last known to be a hunting ground for a small group of nomadic Berserker yautja. They had walked and camped for a single day and night, and were now back on the move trying to track down the group. Anara had been silently trailing along with Setg'in. The planet's climate was very hot, and the landscape was made of dense jungles and wide fast rushing rivers and rapids. Anara blended seamlessly within the underbrush as she slithered along, keeping her head low to the ground, and her large hunting bow on her back. He found that Shirxa were excellent trackers among other things, and were the top predators on their own planet. Every time he learned something new about her kind Setg'in became dismayed that they had long been forbidden to hunt them due to their slow breeding.

They had decided to take different vantage points while searching for a group of yautja that Setg'in had doubts were actually present. He took the high ground, leaping and climbing from tree to tree in order to have longer sightlines. He watched as Anara slithered along the jungle floor, barely visible even to his infrared spectrum. Her blood ran very cold all the time, making her difficult to detect by a yautja using his natural sight. He stood up on a branch to take yet another look around. In the distance, he could see signs of a camp. He clicked to signal her, then pointed in the direction he wished them to go. With only a single quick nod, Anara took off quickly but silently through the brush.

He was up to something. She'd been tracking them right along with him, and every time it seemed they had gotten close, he would choose a different direction than the one they should be going in. They had arrived on the planet in the middle of its long daytime cycle, so plenty of time to have found this group and done whatever Setg'in had in mind to do, which he managed not to explain except in the vaguest terms possible. From what she was able to surmise there couldn't have been more than four members, six at the most. Setg'in had expressed apprehension about even coming here, claiming that this kind of yautja did not take kindly to his kind, and often ended up killing them. Seemed quite a long shot to come here just to have such a group do your dirty work. She didn't understand the point of risking his own life in this way, when he had her and her sisters who could easily handle two yautja males, a human female with a youngling, and a possible yautja female. Perhaps, it was not _his_ life he was risking. Anger coiled in her guts. He thought she was stupid or worse, in love. Too blinded not to figure that he was up to some sordid scheme. She'd spent enough time with him to learn that he couldn't be trusted at his word, and that his amicable attitude was almost always a cover for some plot he was hatching at your expense.

Just as she was about to turn around to tell him just what she thought about this little excursion, she was suddenly lifted high into the air. She struggled mightily, but that only made the net restrict tightly around her until she could not move at all. Anara looked down to see four of the largest yautja she had ever laid eyes on suddenly appear underneath her. The one who was apparently the leader, sent a shuriken to cut her down. She landed in a heap of coils and right on some kind of rock, as she felt the blood trickle from her side. Anara hissed threateningly, spitting venom to see if it would dissolve the netting, but to no avail. An image flashed at the corner of her vision, and for all his schemes she couldn't have been happier to see Setg'in. He landed silently beside her, and uncloaked himself. His spear was brandished and his plasma cannon already charged and ready. The ring leader stepped forward and roared out, crouched in a challenge and began to stalk closer. The other three cloaked and Anara assumed they were being surrounded. The ring leader rushed forward and it seemed they would fight, but suddenly Anara couldn't understand anything.

Setg'in held his hand out, and the other yautja seemed to pause momentarily. Setg'in was talking, but Anara realized she couldn't understand a single word being said. Shit! Setg'in had shorted her translator. She hissed at him next and clawed at the net furiously, but he paid her no mind. He was talking a mile a minute, and slowly but surely the other one seemed to be halfway listening to it.

"I know I have infringed on your hunting ground, but I was hoping I could find you and your hunting party," Setg'in said, trying to stay the leader's hand before he could strike a blow. Even one on one, Setg'in was at a disadvantage. These yautja were stronger, and more vicious although they were fewer in number overall. With one arm, he was no match, so he needed his wits more than ever if he wanted to leave this planet alive.

"What do you want lesser yautja scum? Speak quickly, and I may give you a fair chance to run," the leader growled out, his voice booming even under the cover of his ornate mask. He was all red with black streaks and covered in every kind of scar imaginable. He was nearly completely naked, having on only a codpiece, a wrist gauntlet, body netting, and shoes. Everything else was draped in small skulls and his various weapon holsters and straps.

"I've come to make a deal with you. I know this hunting ground is almost out of viable prey, but I've come to make it a little more interesting, but I'd like something in return," Setg'in said quickly, trying to gauge the mood on this one. It didn't seem too promising. He roared again in agitation.

"We don't make deals with you, we hunt you like the pyode amedha you are! What could you have that I would want?" He asked incredulously. Setg'in smiled underneath his mask. He asked a question instead of immediately killing him, so there was a good chance this little plan would work.

"Do you see what is in your net? Have you taken a good look at it?" Setg'in asked, inching closer to the net until he received a growl from his right and three triangular dots positioned themselves on his chest from the leader before him.

Anara tried to move away from the large male coming towards her. He walked over and squatted near her head, giving her a very long look as if he were examining her, or maybe trying to figure out what she was. After a long few minutes and a grunt he rose to his feet to tower over Setg'in.

"So not only are you a pyode amedha, you are a bad blood as well? Do not think that H'chak does not know what a bad blood is, and that your pathetic codes of honor prevent you from hunting Shirxa. I see you have ignored that. I should remove your head from your worthless shoulders and feed it to my yaut hounds, just because you thought you could come here and speak with me as if you were my equal," H'chak stated as he turned towards Setg'in. He stood in his personal space, a clear challenge to fight especially under these circumstances, but Setg'in stood down. It gnawed at his very nature, but he had to back down. They stood there a while until H'chak was satisfied that Setg'in had been completely cowed, and then he remained in his personal space just for the hell of it. If Setg'in moved away or protested, he was dead.

"You are pathetic, but not as stupid as I supposed. What do you want, and be careful what you say next. If I am not pleased, you won't live long enough to know," H'chak said, folding his arms over his chest to wait for the answer.

"I offer you more of these to hunt," Setg'in said motioning towards Anara.

"She has sisters who are right now residing on my ship. They are more than worthy as prey. All that I need you to do is come get them. They will not trust me without her to convince them, and I did not bring them all because if I did, then I could not be guaranteed of your cooperation H'chak," Setg'in said, swallowing his bitter pill of humiliation to get this over with.

"You do not have a guarantee of my cooperation under any circumstance. You also still have not said what you want me to do. Did you come here to waste my time, or perhaps you too would like to be my prey?" H'chak asked, as he suddenly grabbed Setg'in by the stump of his missing arm. He dug into the healed flesh up to his first knuckles, the green blood flowing over his hand. Setg'in let out a muffled grunt, just short of crying out in pain. He tried to wrench away, but H'chak extended his wrist blades to his throat daring Setg'in to keep trying to get away.

"Who is it that you would like me to kill for you? You are obviously a coward. Tell H'chak that he is wrong about that?" He asked as he dug further into the stump.

"I need you to kill a few yautja for me, or you can take them as prey as well. It doesn't matter to me. They also have a human female among them with a suckling. She might prove useful in other ways," Setg'in said, keeping his voice very calm and even considering he had been verbally, and now physically humiliated.

"Just as pathetic and weak as I assumed. You cannot even kill less than a handful of prey without assistance. Fine, I will kill for you and take my prey to do with as I wish. Now, beg me not to kill you," H'chak said as he removed his blood drenched fingers from Setg'in's stump.

"No," came the answer. As much as he wanted things to go a certain way, Setg'in would not be reduced to begging and groveling for his life. H'chak actually grated out his version of laughter judging by how sharp it was and the light clicking. He pushed Setg'in hard, making him stumble backwards while simultaneously placing a tracking device on his skin. He then set the sights of his plasma cannon on his head and began to count.

"Five, four, three…"

Setg'in cloaked and made a mad dash back to his pod. He could hear them as they gave chase, and he could hear Anara's angry hissing as well. He would make his way quietly back into the ship so as not to alarm her sisters of his presence, and her absence. A cannon blast landed dangerously close, and actually felled the tree right next to the one he had made his way into. Setg'in leaped to another tree, then hurriedly climbed down and took to the underbrush. In the distance he could hear a high-pitched whistle. Yaut hounds. He put his head down and churned his legs until he was fairly flying through the vegetation. His pod had landed in a plain right in the midst of the dense trees, and there was nothing but open flat space beyond the treeline to get to it. As he approached the open field, yaut hounds could be seen howling and running full speed towards him from the other side of the field. He had to beat them to the pod, or be partially eaten alive. Now he understood the reason behind making him bleed. That pauk'de bastard! Just a few more yards, he pumped hard, not out of breath but it was a near thing. He slammed himself into the pod just in time to close the small hatch and keep the yaut hounds out. It wouldn't hold long. A pack of hounds was more than a notion to deal with, and the pod wasn't built for withstanding the impact of ten hounds all at once. Setg'in fired up its small engine and took off, leaving the hounds to bay and howl after him. He breathed a sigh of relief, and now there was anger to replace it. He'd had to lower himself just to get things done, but when this was all over he would have a little surprise for H'chak and his little hunting party. A bunch of angry Shirxa would be hardly contained once they realized that he and Anara had been ambushed, and their sister taken and killed. A small smile lifted a single tusk behind his mask, as Setg'in made his way to the clan ship.


	22. Training Day

It was a pretty decent replica of a flesh and bone humanoid. Jasmine begged Kujhade to have it included in the various tools and training apparatuses for the kehrite. It was for all intents and purposes a heavy punching bag, only shaped like a 'person' complete with a realistic feel of skin and density. It had no face, just a head, body, arms, and legs. Jasmine was pouring sweat as she kicked and punched the heavy bag.

 _Right punch. Left punch. Straight kick to the sternum. Dance to the side._

Over and over she performed that simple combo all around the bag until it was second nature. She had even managed to beat Kujhade into the training room, and that was a first, but she had her reasons. She was upset, frustrated, annoyed, angered, and everything in between. It was Nia. Jasmine had tried to take the high ground, telling herself that Nia was only grieving and that eventually she would come around, but that wasn't really true. Nia didn't like her, and that was fine, but the blatant disrespect of herself and her life in general were grating on Jasmine's nerves with every passing moment. First, it was the burial when Nia snapped at her for no reason. Then afterwards, she had continued to ignore Jasmine whenever she happened to direct something at her. She was condescending in her comments in general, and the last thing just before they all turned in was an open sound of disgust as Jasmine was playing with and feeding her boys. Through all of that, Jasmine had remained calm, choosing silence in hopes that without the attention, Nia would just stop but she was encouraged anyway.

 _Right jab. Right jab. Bob the head. Left uppercut. Dance to the side._

Jazzy gave the bag one last kick, and grabbed her knees to catch her breath. Beads of sweat trickled down her back, and dripped onto the padded floor. She had on a tank top, shorts, and athletic shoes, but might as well have worn a swimsuit for how drenched she was. She reached for a container of water when Kujhade made his way into the training hall.

"I see you have learned well my mate. There is enough room here to resume practice of your archery. I hope you can still handle a bow," he said as he prepared himself for his own exercises.

"Yeah, it's big enough in here. I can still handle a bow, but I need you to teach me how to fight with a knife, or better yet how to shoot that gun you won't let me touch," Jazzy said, cracking a smile. Kujhade and her babies could always lighten her mood.

He hit a button on the wall near the doorway, and across the large room appeared targets high and low, and they began to move all at different speeds and timings. There were only two kehrite rings, but they were in very large oblong rooms which had to be roughly half the length of a football field or close to it.

"You will have to pass a chiva in order to get the rights to carry a cannon," he said, as he adjusted the targets in the distance.

"But you said yourself I'm blooded, so I still have to go through a chiva and fight those hard meat things?" Jazzy said, coming close and putting on her best pout. He was a different Kujhade in training, and was not prone to being lovey-dovey while in the kehrite at all.

"You are blooded, but you would still need to prove you passed a chiva before you would be given your first cannon. It cannot be done otherwise," he told her, as he tried to ignore the fact that her large breasts were planted firmly on his front, and she was smiling up at him sweetly.

"Not even if I fuck my clan leader until his eyes cross and his toes curl? What if I do that, can I get a cannon if I ride the cannon?" She said seductively, kissing and nipping his hard chest and abs.

"Not even if you fuck your clan leader until his eyes cross and his toes curl. Although this would be welcomed at any time, it will not grant you a plasma cannon. Stop it Jasmine, this is not the time," he said, as his mandibles twitched in response to her. She had lifted her shirt so that her bare breasts pressed in on him, and she had reached a hand down into his loin cloth. There she found he was only wearing a soft leather covering instead of his metal codpiece, and now he was semi-erect.

"What's the matter? Am I distracting you somehow?" She asked, knowing the answer. His mandibles only continued to twitch as he focused on something across the room. He struggled to keep his mating musk in check.

So many things were going on lately, and there seemed never to be the privacy Jasmine required for intimacy. Kujhade was going crazy from lack of consistent sex. His definition of consistent was several times in a week, sometimes double in a day. Since the sucklings had been born, that seemed a distant memory. She hadn't come on to him this way in a while, and he desperately wanted to throw her down on the floor and screw her until she screamed his name repeatedly. Most of all he wanted to lick her again. He couldn't get it out of his head. He wanted her in the worst way, but first things first. He gently and reluctantly pushed her away and shook his head. Jazzy pouted but understood that he wouldn't be so easily sidetracked.

"As I prepare for my own training, I want you to hit as many targets as possible. I will count them when you are done. You've been with me a while, so I expect many targets to be hit. Do not disappoint me," he said in a serious tone of voice. He walked to the middle of the ring and began to do his form of martial arts which was incredibly violent looking even in sort of slow motion.

Obediently, Jasmine retrieved her bow and quiver of dummy arrows for training. Hurtling through space got mighty boring, and having nowhere to go made her very arts and crafty. She'd actually created the dummy arrows herself and Mar'cte helped her make sure they behaved like real arrows. She took her stance and drew back. The targets furthest away were moving slowly across the room horizontally. The row of targets in front of it were moving a little further, alternately coming closer to her and moving away from her. The targets in the foreground popped up randomly, much like a shooting range. On the floor was a small painted rectangle which was completely her idea. The point was to see if she could still make certain shots even if the terrain was unforgiving or didn't allow her to move around freely. So she confined herself to the rectangle and took her shots.

The thwang of the bowstring was therapeutic for her. She'd never been a big fighter but she could always hold her own for the most part in the streets. Now, with Kujhade's blood coursing through her, she had better reflexes, she was stronger and had more endurance. She felt beyond healthy and wondered if all the yautja walked around feeling this way. After about thirty minutes she was out of bolts and out of targets as well. Kujhade came up behind her, startling her. He reached a large arm around her and plucked the bow from her hands. His other arm wrapped around her middle as he bent down to whisper in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

"Did you disappoint me?" He asked in his gravelly baritone.

"What would you do if I did? Gonna punish me Jhade?" She asked innocently. He grinned, rubbing a lower tusk in the crook of her neck.

"That all depends on if you hit all the targets or not," he said as he stood up straight and punched something into his gauntlet. All the targets came forward so that he could inspect them.

She waited patiently as he counted the shots. She knew she'd done better than she ever had. Her vision had improved since the last time she took blood from him, so the targets were easier to see and track. Kujhade turned around to look at her curiously. Was that open admiration on his face? He walked back to her and grabbed her up in one arm, pulling her close to him.

"You have certainly not disappointed me at all. You hit all the targets Jasmine, better than you have ever done. When we have a chance we will see how you fare in a real situation," he said, bending down once again this time to grab a giant palm full of her ass.

"I was already in a real situation. You know I saved your ass on that clan ship right? You were ass out and booty loose before I plugged that guy," she teased, the shocked look on his face making her giggle.

"You did not save me! If anything I saved you, little human," he said, lifting her until she could wrap her legs around him.

"Yeah, you did save me Jhade. You saved me in more ways than one," she said, taking a sincerer tone as she leaned in to plant kisses all along his jaw and mouth.

Kujhade allowed the kisses, all the while continuing to struggle to keep his mating musk in check and not screw her there and then. Gently he put her down.

"I have to continue my training. I require nourishment afterwards. We have enough to carry us for a little while, but we will have to stop and hunt soon. Perhaps after this business with Setg'in is completed you and I will go on a hunt, and put your skills to use," he said as he gave her bottom one last squeeze before she walked away.

"Okay big boy we'll hunt. If I win by getting more trophies than you, you have to be my sex slave for a week," she teased, walking backwards towards the door. Kujhade grinned.

"And when I win, what do I get?" He asked, already liking the terms of her deal.

"I dunno, you gotta think of your own punishment for me," she said, starting to giggle at his thoughtful look.

"This is what will happen. If you can procure a trophy exactly as I have taught you, then I will be your sex slave. However, you cannot show human emotions about it. You must make the kill, take the trophy and clean it either in the field or on the ship as I have shown you, without doing what you call 'freaking out'. If you can manage a true hunt, you will have me," he said, proud of the offer he made. Jasmine was a little stunned but excited nonetheless. She had a small trophy stash but she always made him clean them, and for her it was nothing like what he did. In her mind it was small potatoes, and he was the big leagues.

"Okay Jhade," she said in a small voice. Suddenly, she wanted to make him proud of her. She started thinking about what kind of thing they would hunt just as she turned around to leave, then she thought of something really important.

"Jhade?" She called back to him.

"Yes?"

"I know at some point we're going back to Earth for you to hunt, right?" She asked.

"Of course, although this may not be very soon," he said.

"Well, when we do I can't hunt there. Like, I can't kill people Jhade. I can't murder my own kind," she said. He turned to give her a long look then nodded.

"It would make you a bad blood to kill your own, I understand. I will not require it of you, but I will hunt humans still and this cannot be stopped," he said, with both an air of finality and understanding of her situation.

"Okay," she said again and finally left the kehrite completely.

Jazzy made quick work of a shower and went to get the babies. They were awake in their new room, and while they weren't quite crying they were sort of whining at the door. She got them and played with them while bathing them, and putting them on some fresh clothes. They both had on one piece outfits which originally had the feet sewn into them, but Jasmine realized she needed to remove that part. Their teeth and claws were hardening, and just as she was bathing him she found that Marcus had a tusk missing. It came off easily as she washed his face with a small wet cloth. He jerked his face away leaving the small translucent tusk behind. She was amazed to find a whiter, harder tusk already present in its place. The process was similar to when a kitten loses its milk teeth. The permanent teeth actually push out and replace the softer weaker teeth.

Once they were all done, she went to the lower level to the common kitchen and eating area of the ship. There she found Nia who promptly ignored her while trying to find something to eat for breakfast. Jazzy put the twins on the floor so they could explore and crawl around. There wasn't much but a few benches much like the ones on the clan ship. It was just a smaller version cafeteria, and there was nothing more to eat than dried out meats, some veggies and fruits, and water. Mar'cte had managed to make c'nlip out of some of fruits which were going bad, but nobody wanted yautja moonshine except the yautja on the ship.

"Good morning Ms. Nia," Jazzy tried loud enough to be heard, but as she expected was ignored completely. Jazzy took a deep breath and expelled it through her nose. The earlier frustration which landed her in the kehrite came rushing back full force.

"Nothing in here but the same old shit," Nia stated, slamming the food storage doors with a huff. Jazzy gave a single huff of mirth, having sat down with a plate of fruit and some water.

"We'll be sure to stop at the local grocery on our way back m'lady," Jasmine said under her breath, and then giggled out loud at her own joke. Nia turned towards Jazzy with her arms crossed and a mean look on her face.

"Fuck are you laughing at? Nobody said anything to you," she said, hoping to get a rise out of Jasmine.

"Don't start with me this morning Nia, it's too early and a little bit of your syrup goes all over my plate as it is. You do you, and let me do me," Jasmine said, looking at Nia over the rim of the canteen she was drinking out of.

"I'll start whatever the hell I wanna start with you, bitch," Nia said, coming a little closer. Jasmine set the canteen down and looked at the woman.

"You know, back on the clan ship I was going through a lot of personal shit, so I let a lot of the shit you were talking slide. You always made a point to try to talk about me in front of the other women. You turned a lot of them against me for no reason, but I had other things to think about besides your stupid ass. Then, I let you slide when you were about to bury your sister. I figured you were grieving or whatever, but I'm about tired of your shit Nia. You're a disrespectful little bitch and I'm sick of it. So you can fucking keep it the fuck moving, and like I said, don't start with me. If you can't find something respectful to say to me then you don't have to say shit to me," Jasmine said calmly.

"Who the fuck do you think you're talking to bitch?! You ain't let shit slide, you just a punk ass bitch. You didn't do shit then and you not gonna do shit now!" Nia huffed and hollered, her chest heaving with anger. Jasmine simply watched her.

"You can stop being jealous of me any minute now," Jasmine said with a smirk. Then it all happened in slow motion.

Nia huffed and began to storm out of the dining area. Just then Marcus had crawled up, and as babies are prone to do, he began to reach out for Nia. He actually managed to grab her pants leg, and with a strength that shouldn't really belong to a baby he actually tugged hard enough to make her stop and take notice. When Nia spotted him, she promptly pulled the leg back and kicked Marcus hard in his little chest, sending him backwards to the floor. He wailed loudly, more out of surprise than any real injury.

"Keep your disgusting ass freaky ass kids off me!" She screamed as she kicked him and proceeded to leave.

Jasmine did not recall leaving her seat. She saw her baby attacked, then heard his wailing cry as he landed. She raced to him, to see about her baby boy. Jasmine picked him up and laid him on one of the tables. She opened his little shirt to see if he was hurt. On his black mottled skin, was an even darker bruise forming on his tiny chest. She touched it just barely, and he wailed again and flailed his little arms. Mili crawled over to her, starting to cry just because he sensed something wrong, and because his brother was crying. She lifted them both and took them to the larger and more advanced medical bay. Gently, she lay Marcus on the table and started humming to him to soothe him down. She placed Mili on the floor as she had nowhere else to put him, and he couldn't be on her hip as she tended his brother. She rifled through the medicines and found what she was looking for. It was a topical pain medicine, and would help with the bruising as well. She rubbed it gently on his chest, her heart twisting at his cries. Hurriedly, she grabbed the handheld scan and checked for any broken bones. She breathed a big sigh of relief. Internally he was just fine, he was bruised and in a bit of pain, but no lasting damage. Jasmine picked him up and cradled him in her arms, and began to nurse him. After a few minutes he calmed down and entered into a fitful sleep. She put him in his room, and then placed MIli in their little toy pit she'd created for them. Something like a playpen, which she actually had, but they had proven too crafty and consistently escaped it. She closed the door behind her and them stormed off to deal with Nia.

The ship was large and bi-level, but aside from the private quarters, there were only a few common areas. Aside from the cafeteria on the lower level, there was also a communal lounging area akin to a nice lobby. There were comfortable couches lining the walls and a few in the middle of the room. The floor was transparent and gave the illusion that one was floating through space on the comfort of the couches. She searched that area, and finding no one, she passed through figuring one of the other hunters would know where Nia was. Beyond the lounge was a long hall wide enough to drive two cars abreast through, where the most prominent trophies could be displayed. Surprisingly, no one had availed of the space. As far as she knew, Kujhade had not even unpacked his yet. When she reached the end of the long corridor, she could hear the sounds of fighting. Predictably, they were in the kehrite and she followed the sound to the training hall.

Jasmine entered upon Mar'cte and K'var sparring, Dteinou was showing T'chnde her skills with a sword, and watching them both was Nia. She was sitting on the edge of the ring, leaned back on her hands and playfully instigating the spar. Casually she turned towards the sound of someone entering, the smile on her face replaced with a scowl when she saw Jasmine.

It was all a blur to Jasmine, like an out of body experience. She couldn't recall the last time she had felt such hatred and unbridled anger towards anyone. All she could see was little Marcus skid across the floor, and in a flash she was on Nia. Nia had no time to prepare for the onslaught which greeted her. In truth she had foolishly not anticipated it. Why she didn't would be anyone's guess. Jasmine took a running start and tackled Nia, who was just a bit shorter but a little thicker than Jasmine, right into the pit she was sitting on. Nia tried to scramble to her feet. She got to her knees just in time to see one of Jasmine's fist's headed her way. It caught her on the chin and immediately Nia saw stars, and the ringing in her ears was loud. She fell back which afforded Jasmine the dangerous opportunity to mount her. With one hand Jasmine pinned Nia on the chest, and then proceeded to punch her square in the face repeatedly.

"You kicked Marcus! You…kicked…him!" She screamed, the loud smack of fist on flesh punctuating each word.

Dteinou and T'chnde stepped out of the ring and gave questioning looks to Mar'cte and K'var who only shook their heads. None of them had ever seen two human females fight so fiercely. Judging by the amount of blood which was beginning to flow, they figured it might have been a fight to the death. Humans didn't have those as a matter of course or so they believed, but were prepared to let it play out. Dteinou started to break it up, but T'chnde blocked her and shook his head.

Jasmine grabbed Nia by her throat and stood her up. She was standing but barely. Her left eye was nearly swollen shut, and her nose was bloodied. She put her dukes up, but was woozy on her feet.

"Come on bitch! You wanna hit somebody you hit me! Come on!" Jasmine screamed to the top of her lungs as she circled Nia, who began to look afraid rather than defiant. She spat blood, and then got herself together. She wasn't afraid of Jasmine before and wouldn't show fear now. Stupidly, Nia charged and was kicked in the stomach for her troubles. She fell back on her ass hard, then drew her knees up and her arms over her face to cover herself.

Jasmine straddled her again and forcefully pried Nia's arms apart to get to her face. The shorter woman kicked wildly, trying to buck Jasmine off of her but it was no use. Jasmine worked one arm under her knee to pin it, and held Nia's other arm as she open hand smacked her face.

"Don't you ever!"

 _SMACK_

"Touch….!"

 _SMACK_

"My babies…!"

 _SMACK_

"Again!"

 _SMACK, SMACK, SMACK_

Suddenly, Jasmine felt herself hauled off of Nia, but not before being able to land one more kick to her side, which made her curl up on the floor, howling in pain. Jasmine was literally kicking and screaming as she was being dragged away. She struggled hard against Dteinou who had intervened against T'chnde's judgement.

"No! She kicked my fucking baby! I'm gonna kill this bitch! Let me go!" Jasmine yelled. Dteinou put her down, but then held her back.

"What are you saying sister? What happened?" Mar'cte asked. He came over and held Jasmine by her shoulders, and looked her in the eyes. She was crying, and angry, and slightly hysterical.

"Mar'cte, she kicked Marcus. We were arguing, and when she tried to leave he crawled to her and just tried to grab her leg. She didn't want him touching her and then she just fucking hauled off and kicked my baby!" Jasmine said in one long breath.

It took Mar'cte a second to really process what he'd heard before letting out a low growl. He walked past K'var who took over holding Jasmine, and went to face Nia.

"Did you hurt our clan leader's sucklings?" He growled, but Dteinou stood between him and Nia.

"Keep her away from me, she's crazy! She's trying to fucking kill me!" Nia screamed as she half hid behind Dteinou.

"Keep silent. Fight is over," Dteinou said through her robotic sounding translator to Nia.

"Listen to me you baby-kicking bitch! You need to be glad I'm not on your ass as we speak! I should beat the dog shit out of you every time I even think about what you did! What the fuck is wrong with you? I don't care if you hate me, but you will NOT hurt my kids or I will fucking kill you where you stand!" Jasmine yelled.

"Fuck you!" Nia shouted in response, and then Jasmine was back on her.

Jasmine wrenched away from K'var who was more than obliged to let her go. Jasmine skirted around Dteinou to get to Nia who tried to run back, but couldn't. Her ribs hurt too much, and Jazzy targeted them. She delivered a roundhouse kick to her ribs, and Nia doubled over again and crumpled to the floor in a heap. Jasmine jumped her again, and landed vicious blows to her already battered face. At first Nia was yelling for her to get off, but eventually that quieted down. Jasmine's knuckles hurt, and she felt the slickness of blood before she came back to herself and just stopped, fist in midair. Nia was out cold, and her face was a bloody swollen mess. For a moment Jasmine thought she might have killed her. Slowly, she climbed off of her and in a slight daze walked out of the kehrite, leaving the yautja who were there in stunned silence.

Jasmine rushed back to her babies to check on them, only to find Kujhade already there and holding Marcus. His brow was furrowed as he looked at his little chest and saw the bruising. Jasmine froze in her spot. She didn't know what Kujhade might do if he found out what had caused it, and hoped he wouldn't ask.

"What happened to him?" He asked. He was gently rubbing the spot, causing Marcus to whimper. Jasmine's mouth worked, trying to find something to tell him and coming up with nothing. Kujhade growled low in his chest.

"I-it was Nia. She, she kicked him and…" she started and the look in his eyes froze her blood.

He'd set Marcus down and was halfway down the hall before she caught up with him.

"Jhade! I already took care of it! Please!" She pleaded running up behind his long strides. He turned on a dime, green eyes ablaze.

"Took care of it how?" He asked, his tone dangerous.

"I, I fought her. I mean I did what I had to do, just I don't need you going in there killing anybody. I got this. You trust me?" She asked, pleading with him and holding his arm.

"Show me what you did?" He demanded, and turned around dramatically with his dreads swinging around him.

She followed, knowing he was headed to the main bridge to view the footage. When they got there he looked to her expectantly.

"In the other kehrite we fought, but it started in the mess hall," she told him, hoping that she wouldn't have to talk him down after he saw what happened.

He viewed the footage of the argument and the kick with sound. He rewound the kick over and over again, his chest starting to heave. He then switched to the kehrite footage and saw his mate savagely attack the other woman. He watched the fight in its entirety, rewinding it several times to watch it, again with sound. His eyes were still ablaze, but now he was looking specifically at Jasmine in the feed. It was too much. He wished he had been there, but on the other hand he didn't think he could have contained himself. Like a yautja female protecting her pups, she had fought fiercely to avenge the wrong done to them. Her technique was flawless and she was simply dominant. He couldn't control it now. His mating musk was all over the bridge now, and he strained against his codpiece. She was breathtaking in her anger. He'd seen her upset before, but he had never actually witnessed that motherly protective instinct in action, and it drove him crazy. Jasmine stepped back, unsure of why he was so aroused after being so angry before.

He whirled around on her and grabbed her up suddenly. He sat her down on the control panel, and began to rip her shirt off along with her pants which she had to shimmy out of to keep from being pulled out of them by force.

"Jhade what…?" she was about to ask, confused but starting to get aroused herself.

"No talk," he said as he reveled in her nude body. He quickly undressed himself and stood before her.

Typically, he would have liked her to marvel at his body, but right now he didn't have time for all of that. He kneeled down in front of her and roughly parted her legs. He sniffed her once, then went to work burying his face in her warmth. She sucked in a breath through her teeth and leaned herself back to give him more access. He exercised excellent control of his tusks, providing just enough pressure without hurting or biting her tender flesh.

"Mmmnn," she moaned as she grabbed two handfuls of his dreads in her hands. He growled into her, and licked feverishly at her, making her moan and slowly grind herself on him.

It felt wonderful having him like this. He was surprisingly good at it given that he had no lips. Finally, he finished and when she looked him in the eyes, the lust she found there surprised and spurred her on.

"More Jasmine, I need it," he said and that was as close to pleading as he was going to do verbally.

Jasmine slid off of the control panel and motioned for him to lay down on the floor. He obeyed, anxious to get her on top of him. He pulled her down and she quickly mounted him. It was quick, energetic, and charged with unspoken emotions on his part. His feelings of love for her were the most difficult to verbally express, so having sex with her was the best way to do this for him. She was beautiful and he needed her to know what he felt. He grabbed her hips, planted his feet for more leverage, and began to slow the pace. He looked her deep in her eyes, pouring all his emotion and love and admiration for his human mate into every stroke. She held his face between her hands, and kissed him deeply as they both climaxed together. Kujhade lay back, and Jasmine lay on top of him, basking in his warmth and the thunder of his heart. She entered into a blissful sleep, and knew nothing until a few hours later.

* * *

Jasmine woke up in their bed. She sat up and looked around, disappointed that Kujhade was nowhere to be found. She got up and went to take yet another shower. Finishing, she went once again to check on her boys. Mili was awake and playing by himself quietly, perking up when she walked into their room. Quickly he got on all fours and crawled to her. She picked him up and gave him a tight hug.

"Have you been watching your brother?" She asked and was surprised when Mili tried to answer.

"Yaya? Mymymymyya?" He asked, pointing his little finger in Marcus' general direction.

"Aww, your brother is okay Mili. Wanna go say hi? C'mon," she said, bouncing him as they went to where Marcus was resting. Once he saw his brother Mili wanted to be put down next to him. Marcus was awake but very quiet. Mili immediately went to do his version of comforting his brother, which consisted of getting really close to Marcus' face and licking it. Marcus returned the favor along with a little bite, then he laughed and Jasmine's face lit up at the sound. She checked his chest again, which made him whimper but just slightly. They were such strong babies. The color of the bruise had turned purplish and was still tender to the touch. Jasmine quickly went to get the pain reliever and spread it on his skin. He cooed and started to kick his little legs in appreciation. She leaned down and gently kissed the bruise, which made him actually hiss a little bit. She gathered him in her arms after placing Mili on the floor since he wanted to crawl and not be held. He was fast for a little baby and was able to more or less keep up with her to the medical bay.

She was only trying to put the medicine back, when she realized Nia was lying unconscious on one of the metal slabs. Lijia was tending to her. It gave Jasmine pause. Even from the doorway halfway across the room, Nia's face was a swollen mess. She had justification for fighting, but felt guilty anyway. Then she remembered that her baby winced every time she touched his little chest, and the guilt lessened substantially. She put the medicine away then went to take a good look at her handiwork. To her complete surprise Marcus hissed loudly and tried to growl at the very sight of her. He turned and buried his face in his mother's bosom, whimpering and hissing by turns. Lijia looked up at his reaction, clicking her tusks.

"She really kicked him?" she asked, a note of incredulity in her tone.

"Yeah, but I shouldn't have done this," Jasmine said, bouncing a fidgeting Marcus in her arms. He was becoming more and more agitated, as his hissing and growling increased. Jasmine took a step back in an attempt to calm him. It barely worked.

"Don't do that. She is fortunate not to have been killed. Had Kujhade witnessed it firsthand, or had you been one of us, she would have been killed without question and certainly without remorse. She will live, and she should be grateful for that," Lijia said, her tone harder than Jasmine would have expected.

"Ouch!" Jasmine yelled. In his agitation, Marcus has struck her in the face, scratching her with his claws like an angry cat. He struck her again, this time punctuated with short little roars. He was distressed and becoming very angry. She'd stayed too long without realizing how badly he was being affected.

"I gotta go Lijia, but thanks," Jasmine said as she hurried out, with Mili close on her heels. As soon as she was a good distance away, Marcus calmed down almost completely.

"I'm sorry Marcus. Mommy is so sorry baby," she cooed at him and kissed his hands and face over and over.

"Come on, you wanna go see daddy? Let's go see daddy. C'mon Mili, we're going to see daddy in the kehrite cause I know that's where he is," she said in a sing-song voice.

"Dadadada?" Mili asked as she picked him up too.

"Ah so you'll say dada but you won't say mama?" Jasmine asked in mock offence.

"Yayaya *giggling* mama mama," he said giggling the whole time.

"Yaay! That's my little man! Now what about you Marcus, you gonna say mama?" She asked. Marcus looked at her with as serious a face as a baby could make.

"Mamamamama," he said, then patted her face as they walked.

"Awww, mommy loves you too," she cooed again and kissed his large forehead.

* * *

It was getting dark finally, and Anara was still being hunted. She had her bow but only a few shots left. She had not eaten anything, and the water on this planet was barely potable. Her side was bleeding, she ached, she was tired, and she was beyond livid from Setg'in's betrayal. If she lived she would kill him without a further word. For now, she couldn't be concerned about it.

Anara had coiled herself underneath a craggy overhang overlooking a fast running river. The spray from the rushing water coated her and made her cool, which was welcome considering the extreme heat of the day. She had laid down without sleeping, but now she had raised up on her forearms. She couldn't hear anything other than the water, but she could feel their presence. The sun was dipping below the horizon but had not completely set. The light was still in the sky and she could clearly see her surroundings. What gave it away was the silence. Just a few minutes before, she could hear the strange chirping of birds but now there was nothing other than the water. She was as still as a statue, but then eventually ventured to stick her head out from under the overhang. She flicked her tongue out, tasting the air around her. It was thick and hot, and someone else was not far away. She would have to leave her fragile hiding place. As quickly as the pain in her side would allow, Anara slithered out and down to the river bank. She disliked swimming but had no other choice. Going back into the dense jungle wasn't an option. They were in there, and she was vulnerable anywhere she was. Just as she slipped into the water a blue flash nearly blinded her. The spray of water was both fantastic and nearly boiling hot as the plasma blast hit the water next to her. It scalded her badly. She screamed as she rolled back onto the land and tried to move into the underbrush, but one of the hunters materialized before her, stabbing her in the back and severing her spinal cord. She went limp halfway down. She tried to retrieve her bow, but it was snatched by another hunter. They had converged around her, and were going to finish her off. The leader emerged. She couldn't see his face. She couldn't see anything but the mud beneath her, and the strange worms crawling and creeping about inside of it, but she could feel him smiling. It took two of them to haul her up by her arms. She was eye to eye with the leader. He gave her a once over, gave a single grunt, and punched her square in the jaw, knocking her out cold.


	23. Why So Serious?

A strange purple dawn creeped over the horizon, casting an eerie glow over the treetops. The good thing was there was no pain. Severing her spinal cord had seen to that, but the knowledge that they had cut her open and were extracting some of her most potent venom was enough to drive her insane. She'd wondered upon finally waking up why they didn't just kill her by the river bank. When they got her back to their torture camp, she understood all too clearly. When a Shirxa is near death they secrete extremely potent venom not produced at any other time. It was supposed to be a last ditch effort to kill whatever was killing it, but these hunters seemed prepared. They worked with tools and were careful not to come in direct contact with her skin or any other part of her. They were collecting it, no doubt to use as part of their hunting paraphernalia, and she was disgusted. She was also dying from extreme blood loss and injury. They had her strung up between two trees, her arms spread and her body limp. Her head lolled back and forth, unable to hold it up or keep focus. She felt herself being pulled and prodded, and she was powerless to stop it.

Anara looked up at the sky, the color brightening. It was beautiful. The warmth of the sun was on her oddly beautiful face, and she couldn't stop a hot tear from sliding down her cheek. Myaz and her other sisters would worry. Despite her wishes they would come for her. It couldn't be helped. Her sisters would meet her fate and would be all her fault. She had brought them to Setg'in knowing that he could not be trusted. All five of them had left their home planet to see the universe, to discover a life outside of hiding and seclusion, and it had ended here.

They must have finished extracting all the venom they needed because the prodding stopped suddenly. The leader came into her hazy view and pulled her hair, making her look at him. His mask was off and she couldn't hide her shock and disgust. She had never seen a yautja that looked like this. He was red, his eyes were red and set back on his head rather than in deep sockets. His mandibles were larger and sharper looking. He was altogether more frightening in his appearance, and now she was not even spared fear as her final emotion before she left this strange world. In him she saw no mercy, no remorse, and absolutely no pity. Hopefully he would end her suffering quickly.

H'chak regarded her a moment. She had been a good hunt, eluding his hunting party for hours. She had even managed to severely injure his scout, and had nearly killed him. The one who brought her mentioned others of her kind. A rare gift indeed to have the opportunity to hunt such creatures. He looked forward to that, but for now it was time to end her misery. He pulled her hair, this time to expose her throat to his wrist blades. Anara looked back up into the morning sky. The day was already becoming hot. It warmed her face, and the parts of her body that could still feel. The morning light brightened, then quickly faded. Anara blinked once, twice, then closed her eyes. She was warm.

* * *

Setg'in had escaped the clutches of the Berserkers, and was now completely avoiding Anara's sisters. He was in the old medical bay. They didn't know about that place, or at least they hadn't come there looking. Only the doctor was privy to his whereabouts. As of now the doctor was busy changing his bandages. Setg'in was simply sitting there thinking about Anara. It was a shame. He really would have liked things to be different, but now what was done was done.

Setg'in grumbled and gave the doctor a sharp look which made him duck his head for wrapping the stump of his arm too tightly. The doctor completed his task in silence, sensing that the clan leader was disturbed by something. He'd actually turned to leave when he paused at the door, turning to address the larger yautja.

"Did you really let those pauk'de bastards have Anara?" The doctor ventured to ask, although he knew it was dangerous ground to tread. Indeed, Setg'in growled and got to his feet, stalking towards the shorter yautja. The doctor backed away a little.

"You dare to question me? It's none of your business what I do, just make sure you aren't next!" He yelled, but something was off. The doctor studied his clan leader's face. Something in his eyes read regret perhaps. It wasn't sadness, he was fairly certain about that, but regret seemed close.

"I am sorry. I only…" he started.

"Get out, and do not be seen if you can manage that," Setg'in said. The doctor wasn't quite done.

"I couldn't help but overhear that there was a certain ship headed this way. Come to collect?" He said sarcastically, reading that today Setg'in's bark was more potent than his bite. Setg'in huffed a bit, but couldn't deny that the Berserkers were definitely on their way to collect.

"Anara would be dead by now. I had to secure their assistance," he admitted.

Behind Setg'in was an old metal slab. It was over to the side of the wall near a window. Suddenly, he was exhausted. His stump throbbed and it made him think of how much of a disadvantage he was in a fight. He hadn't truly adapted to it at all.

"I don't understand," the doctor said, hoping for a real answer.

"You never do, it's a wonder you've survived this long but I'll try to explain," Setg'in began as he seated himself on the old metal table.

"I sent Dteinou to her doom and this will not go unnoticed. The matriarch will suspect that I've killed her or at least had something to do with it, and she won't be so kind as to send another of her enforcers around just to ask questions. They will come to kill me and any who side with me. Do you understand now why I needed to even the odds a little?" He asked the doctor, who had set down his small case of equipment.

"We were wrong," he said. The words hung there between them, not needing an explanation or any further elucidation, although both were sure there would be some. Setg'in's face screwed up into a hard grimace as he shook his head.

"Get out of here," he rumbled, as he slowly got to his feet. Maybe his bite wasn't so off after all? The doctor took a single step back, but didn't turn tail and run.

"I will, but we were wrong. Dteinou had honor and we could have dealt with her…" he had to duck before he could finish his sentence.

The smart disc glided past the top of his head, ricocheted off the doorway behind him, then returned to Setg'in's hand. With a flick of his wrist the disc was headed back in the doctor's direction, who had made his highest priority to get the hell out of there.

"Out or die!" He bellowed, his chest heaving as he caught the disc in his hand. He heard the doctor making haste out of the area, and slowly put away the weapon. Suddenly his wrist gauntlet illuminated and buzzed, opening an image of a worn and foreign ship docking into his own. His heart started pounding. It was them and they'd come to collect on the deal. The only problem was he doubted that they would wait on whoever the matriarch sent, plus Kujhade and Mar'cte. Perhaps they would simply kill all aboard the ship including him, and take the Shirxa away. He couldn't let that happen. The remaining yautja on the ship were loyal only because there were no other viable alternatives, even though a few of them were bad bloods themselves although he didn't quite trust that. He double checked the doctor's bandage work, and made his way to the main bridge.

* * *

They had traveled at light speed. They'd ended up in the last known location of the old clan ship, and all the while the mood of their clan had changed. In particular Kujhade's mood had changed, and to Jasmine he seemed more like he was when they first encountered each other. He was broody and more or less silent. They'd had only one more tryst after the one on the bridge, and afterwards he had been all business. Even now he and Jasmine were in the kehrite training. As a bearer who was still rearing younglings, she had the right not to engage in fighting without besmirching her honor. She decided to fight, and even though they had not discussed what to do with the sucklings, he deferred to her motherly instincts. Surely she would find a way to keep them safe. For now, he was training her with his large hunting knife. He held one in his hand, crouched then circled her, growling lightly in his throat. He was wearing his full armor and Jasmine had to admit he was actually rather scary.

Kujhade made her wear her modified armor. It was pretty much his attire, but made to fit her smaller frame. The wrist gauntlet fit on her upper arm, her waist cloth was leather and barely there. He had even managed to find her some body mesh which she was surprised to find was quite comfortable. She had braided her hair in cornrows again, and had on metallic boots, a smart disc on her thigh and her bow slung on her back. They had been training in full armor to get her used to the weight and function. It was hard, but she was thankful to be in such good shape now. The training had been more intense than usual. Kujhade had mock attacked her several times, but his mocking was an intense fight from her point of view. He was as strong as ever, and in reality he had scared her genuinely but she was determined to push through it. She knew he was simply trying to prepare her for any possibility and she couldn't be freaking out the whole time.

K'var stood on the sidelines watching his sire try to train this human female in the ways of the hunt and kill. He had his arms crossed over his mottled chest. He couldn't help but admire his sire. He was large and strong, and even though he was holding back it was obvious how capable he was. K'var was also kind of impressed with Jasmine. She was no match, yet she did not back down nor give up. Jasmine switched the large blade from her right hand to her left, and suddenly as if that small movement had prompted it, Kujhade attacked. He swiped at her abdomen, and when she backpedaled to get away, he stepped forward and placed his large palm over her entire face and pushed her back on her butt.

Jasmine tried not to pout because K'var was watching, but she was embarrassed tremendously. How could he just push her down like that? She was beginning to sulk until his voice boomed from behind his mask.

"Up! If I were an enemy I would have killed you Jasmine. You have to be ready for any attack, now get up and try again to block me," he said turning the knife in his large hand, and resuming his stance.

She got to her feet, trying not to make a face at him. He turned towards her, dreads flaring out, and arms spread wide in a threatening way. He crouched and began to circle her once again. Jasmine tried to mimic him, but was thinking of a way to get an upper hand. She was tired of being put on her ass all the time. She turned the knife in her hand as well, watching his feet and trying to watch for any sign of how he might attack. While she was thinking about it, he closed the distance frighteningly fast. He got behind her, and before she could turn around he'd managed to grab her around her throat, hold her up until her toes barely grazed the floor, and gave her two shallow cuts running vertically up her side, then dropped her and resumed his stance. As expected, Jasmine stumbled and fell to the floor, grasping her side.

"Jhade! You cut me!" She exclaimed, bringing her blooded fingers to eye-level. With a shocked expression, she looked up at Kujhade, who seemed largely unconcerned with the injury he had inflicted.

"Up!" He yelled, motioning that she should get up right away.

"If you insist on hunting with me, and fighting at my side you cannot react to that. Humans are weak and are unaccustomed to injury and the sight of their own blood. In battle and in hunting you must ignore this if you want to keep your head on your shoulders. Now, up!" He said as he paced the floor impatiently.

Slowly she did make it to her feet. She angrily wiped the two tears that stung her eyes, and wiped her bloody hand on her netted thigh. From the far wall K'var gave a grunt of approval, but otherwise did not move. Her side was starting to ache a little, but she still tried to pay it no mind. Her anger was bubbling to the top now. He already been hard on her, but to actually have cut her! How dare he do that?! And that bit about humans being weak didn't sit too well with her either. Who did he think he was talking to?!

Kujhade didn't feel good after he had made her bleed, although he knew that ultimately it was for the best. They were in for a grand fight whenever they got to Setg'in and it wouldn't be long now. He had T'chnde tracking the ship, something the techy yautja assured him could be done. Perhaps there would be a few yautja loyal, or Paya forbid, afraid of Setg'in. There may be an overwhelming number when they docked that ship. It was simply an unknown variable, which made Kujhade very uneasy. A good hunter never went to hostile territory without first having scouted the terrain and any potential threats in the area. Who knew what was waiting on them, and Jasmine had to be as prepared as she could possibly be. He watched as she made it to her feet with a resolute look. He suppressed a grin behind his mask. This is why he had come to love her. He could see and smell her distress at having been injured at his hand. Now if she could focus that feeling, she could maybe be trusted to survive the upcoming fight. Jasmine came towards him. She was angry but he could tell that she was still in charge of her wits. She was still thinking about what she wanted to do, what she could do. Even though too much thinking could kill you just as fast as not enough thinking, he was glad to see she hadn't become hysterical. Kujhade had to dodge the first attack aimed at his abdomen, the largest part of him which was unarmored. She didn't stop moving forward. He sidestepped to his left and she followed, taking wide but controlled swipes at him the whole time. He took a swipe of his own which she ducked, and that was when she was able to get underneath him. Like Mar'cte, she was learning to use her smaller height and size to her advantage. She wasn't fast enough to deliver two in quick succession as he had done, but she did land one cut. It was shallow and didn't draw much blood, but she had done it. He was proud of her, but he still took his large hand to the side of her head and pushed her back hard. She stumbled but refused to fall. He'd followed his push intending to deliver another blow, but since she didn't go to the ground as he expected, he didn't get to hit or cut her again. Jasmine spun around to face him then dropped to a crouch, taking a swipe at his knee then rolling out of the way of an incoming kick. Jasmine came out of the roll into another crouch, and had to use both forearms to block a blow coming from overhead. Kujhade roared and grabbed her by her throat again with his other hand, and lifted her high in the air. He seemed as if he were about to say something, probably another short lecture about how weak humans were, before she delivered a cut to his upper arm. Surprised, his grip loosened even though he never let her go. Smartly she used that opportunity to lift her feet, pressing them in his sternum while squirming her way out of his hand. It was no use. Try as she might, he did not let her go, and she would have to really injure him to make him drop her. Jasmine went limp, exhaustion taking over.

Kujhade suppressed a chuckle as he put her down. While they were sparring, Mar'cte and Dteinou had joined K'var as a small audience. Mar'cte grunted his approval of Jasmine's performance. He had come to admire her tenacity during sparring sessions. He had taught her how to get underneath a larger opponent, and she had taken the lesson well. Once her feet hit the floor she wrenched away from him, and began getting all of her gear together in order to leave. Kujhade paid it little mind as he took a look at the small injuries she had given. His arm was bleeding more than his side. He nodded his head in silent approval of her having landed a few blows.

"Maybe you will survive yet my mate," he said conversationally.

Jasmine stopped in her tracks, shoulders heaving in time with her breath. She knew he didn't mean anything by it really. It was just an off-handed comment, but there was something about it that just grated against her soul and her sense of self. She was facing the doorway, but now turned to face him.

"I have always survived. I don't need your little funky ass digs about it. I was surviving when you met me," she said, her tone low but the anger in it was unmistakable. Kujhade stopped checking his armor and looked at his wife. He could sense her anger, and the tenseness of her muscles and her whole aura. He thought maybe it was only because they had just finished sparring.

"All I'm saying is that you need to be able to take care of yourself. I can't always be there to ensure your safety," he said matter-of-factly. That did it. The hot tears started rolling, but she wasn't sobbing, she was furious.

"Excuse me? You're not always around to do shit for me. You weren't around when U'darajhe had me. You weren't around when he was beating me, when he was hurting me, when he was choking me on his filthy fucking cock!" She screamed. Her voice had risen with each sentence, and ended in a strangled yell. The room stood silent. Mar'cte seemed to hang his head, and Kujhade stood as still as a statue. She couldn't see his face, but she knew she'd hit him right where he lived. She instantly regretted it. She had meant to say it, since it had been gnawing at her since she recovered, but she hadn't meant to hurt him with it. She hadn't meant to wield it like a weapon as she was doing right now, but it was out and the river of emotion could not be dammed again. Kujhade removed his mask slowly, wanting to see her with his natural sight. Her fists were balled at her sides, the cords of muscle stood out in her neck, she was breathing heavily, and worst of all she was crying. She wasn't breaking down with it, but she kept having to wipe her face.

All of a sudden, the anger of that time resurged with a vengeance for him. He hadn't been there. He hadn't saved her. He had been too late. He had allowed her to go with a human he didn't trust, and she'd nearly been killed because of it. She figured her own way out, and it had nothing to do with him. It had bothered him daily since then. He'd killed everything in his path on the next few hunts after her recovery. Now to hear the words spill from her like this, an accusation and a proof of his incompetence as her protector gave him emotions he had only ever struggled with as an abandoned pup. This must be what a yautja feels when the council deems them a bad blood for some offence. He couldn't think of the word for it, but it was shame. Utter and complete shame.

Out of respect for Kujhade as the clan leader, everyone except Jasmine filed out of the kehrite leaving the couple to hash things out by themselves. They stood there facing each other from across the wide room, an ocean of tension between them. She watched as he only stood there, mandibles twitching, his eyes never leaving her own. She didn't know what she expected him to do with this information. He couldn't give her what she needed in this moment, and wasn't sure that he could even comprehend it. She wasn't even exactly sure what she needed, but she knew what she wanted him to do. She wanted Kujhade, her husband, her alien lover, to rush across that room and scoop her up in his arms. She wanted to cry on his shoulders, she wanted to hit him, she wanted to shower a million curses and tell him how much it hurt, but that she didn't really blame him for what happened. She wanted him to patiently wait out the storm of her emotion until it became an April shower, and then whisper in her ear that he was sorry. That he would never again leave her side, that he would protect her from everything. She wanted him to hold her, kiss her, love her pains away, but he could not. It was Hollywood stuff she wanted. This was real life, where things didn't go as planned, where things could hurt you and you had to either survive them or let them swallow you whole. She was keenly aware of the fact that she was being quite unfair to him. Hadn't he done every last single one of those things? How many nights had he held her, and made love to her, and promised her his love and protection? Hadn't he loved away the pain of her addiction? Hadn't his love and attachment lessened the blow of having missed those things from her own mother? Hadn't he given her two beautiful children who also showered her with a love so pure that it brought both a pain to her heart and healed it all at once? What else did she want from him that he had not already given? It was the asking and the answer to that question, which made her run to him at a full sprint.

Kujhade took a step back thinking that she had come to attack him in her distress. He only realized a second before she leaped into his arms that, that was not her intention at all. She was sobbing loudly now, and balling herself up in his arms, her head buried in the crook of his neck. He could feel her hot tears slide down his back as he stood there, slightly confused over her emotional state. He still sometimes had a hard time pinning them down. Human emotions weren't so complex as they were all over the place. An average human could go from one feeling to another seemingly at will, and this appeared doubly so for the female of the species. Jasmine had wrapped her legs around him and was holding her arms around his neck for dear life.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said all that to you Kujhade. I'm so sorry," she whispered to him, as he wrapped his arms around her unsure if that was what he should be doing.

"It's not your fault, it was never you fault," she told him, and he couldn't help a tremulous sound from escaping him. It vibrated through her, and it sounded like a sigh of relief, like a burden had been lifted. All of a sudden he got it. He understood that she too must have been feeling some measure of what he felt. He was ashamed of having not killed U'darajhe a million times over, but it was in the past now. Nothing he could do about that, but he could express to Jasmine once more how much he cared for her. She seemed to need some form of reassurance.

Carefully he kneeled down on the mat cushioned floor and lay her down. She looked up at him, but did not move from the spot. She watched as he got up and walked over to his pile of armor and equipment on the floor and brought back a small metal box; his medi-kit. He kneeled next to her as he rummaged through it and removed a small bottle of a gel like substance. He took two fingers and dipped them inside, taking his time to apply it to her two cuts. She sucked in a breath through her teeth at the sting, but allowed him to finish. Once he was done he closed the small box and set it to the side. Kujhade turned his attention back to Jasmine. Tenderly, he wiped away a tear with the pad of his thumb, then moved his hand to the back of her head. He leaned down in hopes that she would kiss him, and she did so eagerly. She wrapped her legs around his middle as he moved to cover her completely. He broke the kiss to graze his mandibles down her throat to her collarbone, nibbling there before working his way back up to her mouth. With deft fingers and sharp talons, he removed her loincloth and her chest armor. With the same hand he removed his codpiece and settled himself between her legs. Jasmine looked into his eyes as he entered her slowly, almost reverently. She moaned and gripped his dreads between her fingers, making his eyes flutter and a snarl escape him. He made a slow and tender love to her for a long time in the quiet of the empty kehrite. She could feel him pouring his emotion into her, surrounding her with it. There was more to it than having orgasms, which they both did a few times each. It was better than the Hollywood hope, this was real. Kujhade was her husband, and his love for her was as real as their very existence.

* * *

Setg'in watched with growing trepidation as the strange ship docked itself into the hangar below. He was still on the main bridge watching the monitors. Anara's sisters were there. It appeared that they had stationed themselves in the main hangar to watch for their sister's return. It had been more than a day or so now, and they were pacing the floor. The yautja who always attended the hangar and its comings and goings, stayed more or less out of the way, not wishing to harm them for fear of retribution. Now they took what looked like a defensive stance, when the Beserker clan's ship pulled in as if it belonged there. The other yautja who were there also took a stance since the ship did not look like a common one would.

Setg'in only stared dumbly at the screens before deciding that he actually needed to go down there since he was the one who technically invited them. He couldn't afford for a fight to break out which was definitely going to happen without some intervention on his part. He turned from the screens and made his way down to the hangar for better or worse.

This was pleasing to H'chak in every single way. Such a large clan ship as this was usually teeming with his weaker cousins, but that was not the case here. Even more wonderful was the presence of his promised reward should he fulfill his part of this so-called bargain. H'chak and the rest of his hunting party disembarked. They were four total. His scout was still injured but prepared for fighting still. The other two besides himself flanked him on either side as they strode through the wide hangar. As expected, the weaker yautja there watched them but made no move against them. With their masks on, they were unsure of who the newcomers were, and that was just as well for now in H'chak's estimation. All the fighting could be gotten to later he supposed. Not surprisingly the so called leader was nowhere to be found to greet his guests. It made no matter. H'chak boldly made his way to the wide doorway to enter the ship proper, when three yautja moved to block him.

"Who are you and why are you here?" One of them stepped forward to ask gruffly. Underneath his mask H'chak grinned. He lightly tapped the arm of his clan brother who had aimed his plasma cannon at the head of the guard as a response to the question. The guard growled, but H'chak waved it away.

"We are here at your clan leader's request and we will not be denied," he said, his gravelly voice giving the statement a more menacing quality than even he was expecting. He was actually trying to give these pieces of scum a bit of courtesy before outright slaughtering them like he wanted to do. Little did they know they should be groveling at his feet and begging for a mercy they weren't going to get.

"Lower your weapons," Setg'in said with an unmistakable air of authority to the guard. Reluctantly the order was followed, but neither of them moved an inch until Setg'in barged his way between them physically. He turned to H'chak and gave his small crew a once over. They were filthy as if they'd been doing absolutely nothing but hunting for days on end, which he supposed was probably the case. These were savages after all, but he had dealings with them just the same, and he was intent on seeing it through. They were all about to go inside, a massacre narrowly averted when the high pitched voice of Myaz called out clear across the large area.

"Setg'in?! Where is Anara?" The eldest of the Shirxa exclaimed as she slithered quickly towards the small group.

Shit.

"Myaz she is in my private quarters where you are forbidden. She is fine, now leave us a moment," he tried to order but Myaz was not stopped so easily. She slithered right up next to him, paying H'chak little mind.

"I want to see her now. It is very peculiar that you are here and she is not," she stated while folding her arms across her chest. He had to pour on a little charm to get out of this quickly.

"Myaz, she is well I promise. You will see her soon and as a matter of fact as soon as I am finished my business with them, you will be welcomed to join her, is that alright?" Setg'in said sweetly.

"Yes, sweet Shirxa you will join your sister soon, now leave us," H'chak butted in, much to Setg'in's chagrin. He did NOT want Myaz angered. She turned to the intruder and hissed her annoyance at having been addressed by him at all. She couldn't see it, but H'chak smiled more. It had been such a long time since he'd had any occasion to smile, so he welcomed this little group of misfits soon-to-be-prey, and the entertainment they provided, but he was growing tired of it. He didn't like conversation. It agitated him and was a sure way to put him in the mood for killing. Unsatisfied but unwilling to press the issue more, Myaz turned and glided towards her other sisters as they surrounded her for news of Anara. While they were distracted, Setg'in turned to enter the ship, and beckoned H'chak to follow. He would need to figure a way to stall them until they could help him, then he would make sure they didn't survive the fight either. He had no idea that he would not need to stall for very long.


	24. Breath Before the Plunge

Myaz was in front of Setg'in's private quarters. She had managed to temporarily assuage her sisters. As the eldest of their small group, they were obliged to listen to her. She had convinced them of that which she did not believe herself. Anara was not in these quarters. In fact, she was not on this ship at all. Anara was dead. Myaz knew it, and it was hard not to share this intrinsic knowledge with her sisters, but she had to maintain control long enough to discern exactly how it had happened if she could. First though, she had to make absolutely certain. She needed to confirm in her mind what she knew in her heart. She reached slender, talon-tipped fingers to the hidden panel in the wall and opened the sliding door. The rooms beyond the threshold were immaculately cleaned, a stark contrast to the rest of the ship which had fallen into serious disrepair even in the short time Myaz had resided upon it. She didn't need to enter the dwelling. Myaz sniffed the air, and did not sense her sister who would have come to her had she been there. Her essence wasn't in this room, but it wasn't completely gone either. Her essence lingered, but it was the smell of death. With a sorrowful look in her blood red eyes, Myaz closed the door and slithered away.

She decided to find Setg'in and the newcomers. There was something very odd about them, and she was certain it had to do with Anara. The leader had echoed Setg'in and told her she would join her sister. How would he know of her sister? Why was he so sure Myaz would join her, and join her where? Myaz travelled a little faster as realization dawned on her. She headed towards the bridge and when she did not find anyone, she headed to the only other place they could all be. Setg'in was a pitiful fool who sought to impress others with grand shows of either authority or wealth. As an elder he could afford most things that yautja considered to be luxurious, one of which was the ability to keep food in abundance. With that in mind, she headed towards the conference room where he would have liked to serve guests. The room itself boasted their brand of opulence, and he would have been stupid enough to demand that multiple dishes be brought to him and his guests.

She'd made it to the large double doors of what used to be the elder's large conference room. Beyond the doorway she heard raised voices, then the clatter of dishes on the hard metal floor. She was about to barge in until a slender hand grasped her shoulder. Myaz whirled around, fangs and long talons bared. She immediately calmed once she saw it was one of her sisters. The youngest of them, Lira, staring at her with large red eyes. She looked sad as if she'd been crying.

"What is it Lira?" Myaz asked, although she had a fair idea.

"It's Anara. Myaz, I can smell her… I can smell her, her death essence," Lira said, her shoulders sagging and voice wobbly with emotion. Myaz moved to comfort her.

"I know Lira, but we will avenge her. We will do it as soon as we know exactly what happened," Myaz told the youngest, and at that Lira snapped her head up.

"We don't need to know that! All we need is to kill Setg'in! He is the one responsible and you know this Myaz!" Lira whisper shouted. Myaz stared dumbly at her youngest sister. She grabbed Lira by the upper arm, and began to lead Lira away towards the hangar.

"Where are we going? Our sister's murderer is in there," she protested as her sister kept moving.

"Yes, but we have to have a plan Lira, and he is not alone," Myaz said then stop cold. Lira looked at her sister questioningly. Myaz slowly turned her head to look her sister in the eyes.

"Myaz, what is it?" Lira questioned, as Myaz's grip tightened on her arm. It was Anara's death essence. It was the newcomers also. She'd smelled something strange when she slithered up to the small group to question Setg'in. She'd been so focused on him, that she ignored the smell, but now it hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Myaz, you're hurting me. What is it?" She protested again.

"Not just killer, but killersssss. Come!" Myaz said cryptically before speeding off towards the hangar, younger sibling in tow.

* * *

"How's it coming T'chnde?" Kujhade asked as he stared at the screen as well. He was standing behind T'chnde who was seated at the controls, talons moving the images across the air in front of him.

"It is going better than I expected. This ship has a more advanced tracking system, and also with this newer interface, I don't have to use most of my own devices. I have already tracked the ship. All I had to do was calibrate this ship signal to the old one, using the chip in my gauntlet which was always slaved to the clan ship," T'chnde rattled off with a sort of smile on his face. He loved all technology and reveled in a chance to use it in various ways.

"How long will it be before we reach the ship?" Kujhade asked, not interested in the slightest as to how it all got done.

"Perhaps within a day's time, perhaps even less," he said. Kujhade nodded and left the bridge for the kehrite.

He passed Dteinou on the way out, who gave him a curt nod. When he left she strode over to T'chnde and stood behind him. In an uncharacteristic show of affection, she placed her hands on his broad shoulders. The touch stopped his hands in midair. She had avoided any such touches since the day he held her in the shower. It seemed like a distant bittersweet memory. She came around to the side, lightly dragging her talons across his skin as she took a seat. Finally, he caught his breath and spoke to her.

"Have you checked on your human friend?" He asked her, not really concerned but trying to take advantage of her mood.

She nodded but seemed in deep thought.

"Is she awake yet? I thought Kujhade's mate would kill her," he said half joking.

"Awake," her metallic voice said through the mask.

"You don't seem pleased by this. What is wrong my Dteinou?" He inquired stopping to turn and face her. At first she was looking past the images to the window beyond, then she faced him.

"Not her. Setg'in. Bad blood planning something. I feel this," she said, and her muscles tensed at the thought of him. T'chnde sat back, nodding his agreement.

"Yes, I understand and agree. A bad blood such as himself would always have some sort of scheme going, but we're prepared for whatever. Death is imminent, either for us or for him, so we will be fine," he said in an effort to ease her mind.

In truth Dteinou wasn't worried about Setg'in so much as she was worried about the continued existence of the small clan of which she now found herself apart. She was still the matriarch's top enforcer, but maybe being part of a clan again could be a good thing. All of it would not matter if they died on the clan ship. She had to make sure that they lived, even if somehow Setg'in had convinced the rest of the yautja on the ship to join, they all had to live. She needed this. She realized that she needed them all, from T'chnde whom she loved deeply, even to Jasmine who she was coming to learn more about and respect. Most of all the hybrid pups were to be protected. She'd been watching Jasmine and Kujhade interact with their pups the entire time she had been there. At first she disapproved of the whole concept of not only keeping the albino one, but having them at all. As time went on, she saw their potential. They were in all ways yautja, but they grew up a lot faster. Dteinou attributed that to their human genetics. She still harbored her doubts, but they were pups and would not survive without the protection of this clan. Any other clan leader or any other yautja not included in this group would potentially kill them out of hand if they realized their hybrid status. Aside from all those things, Setg'in had to pay with his life for all that he had done, most notably the taking of her tongue. He'd admitted what he did to the Old Hunter, and none of that could go unanswered.

Suddenly she felt T'chnde's clawed hand graze her lower jaw. She snapped her head up.

"You were thinking about something. I wish you could tell me what it is," he said tenderly to her. She gave him a long stare before eventually leaning into his caress. He smiled, content to continue until a light flashed on one of the images. With a snarl he looked up to see a familiar sight come into view.

"Let Kujhade know. We're here," he said, and he heard a low growl emanate from Dteinou.

* * *

He was standing now, a menacing specter over Setg'in. H'chak had taken a large muscled arm and swiped every piece of food and drink from the long table.

"I will give this little group one day to appear. If they do not show themselves we will kill every piece of filth on this ship, and take the remaining Shirxa with us. Is that clear?!" H'chak bellowed.

Setg'in stood to his feet to face the hunting party leader across the large ornate table. He was trembling with rage, but still could not afford to lose his cool. He growled and then they all stood to tower over him.

"I don't care who you think you are, but you don't come here and think you can order me around!" Setg'in shouted, doing his best to be intimidating. It would have been effective against anyone else.

H'chak's second in command started to come across the table, but was stopped by his leader. There was a brief tense silence, that was broken up by the sound of a grating laugh. Once again these inferior yautja had provided more entertainment. He would perhaps keep this one around as a sort of pet. His last one didn't survive, but then again they never did.

"You have heart. I might remove it from your chest later, but it's good to know you've got one," H'chak said, as the tension slowly eased to a more acceptable level.

"As I said, we'll wait a short time. Otherwise you know what happens," he said. He sat back down, and motioned his brothers to do the same.

"Now. More of that c'nlip you have. I need something to settle me if I have to withstand the sight of you much longer," H'chak said much to the amusement of his hunting party.

"Hm, of course," was all that Setg'in could force out of his throat. He was still trembling with rage. One more outburst like that, and he thought he would take his chances in a fight to the death.

A moment later a full platter of c'nlip was presented by the server girl who fought with Jasmine seemingly forever ago. She was taken aback by the presence of these new ones, and hurriedly set down the platter, cleaned the mess from previous outburst, and made a beeline out of there.

* * *

"Are you sure that is the clan ship so soon?" Kujhade asked T'chnde. He was right in the middle of a weapons and system check in the kehrite, when he had been interrupted.

"I am certain. I am also offended that you would ask if I was certain. I have initiated a complete cloak of this ship, so they shouldn't detect us as we dock," T'chnde said. Kujhade nodded and waved T'chnde away, who went to prepare his own weapons.

On his way out of the kehrite, he ran into K'var.

"Sire, is it time yet?" He asked.

"Yes, so you should prepare yourself. I know that honor dictates that you not pass an opportunity to confront a bad blood, but…" Kujhade was about to say, before K'var grunted loudly.

"If you value me as a member of this clan and as your pup, you will not complete that sentence," he said. Kujhade looked him in the eyes until K'var glanced down, but he did not move a muscle.

"Sire, I will fight by your side. Do not dishonor me by asking me to do less than that," K'var said, his tone almost pleading. Kujhade grabbed and shook K'var's shoulder gently, and lifted a lower mandible in a smile.

"I will not dishonor you then, but you must realize that we might all meet the black hunter. It is no different than any hunt," he said to his son, then exited the kehrite.

Kujhade marched over to the pup's room believing he would see Jasmine there. When he found the room empty he went looking. He found himself in the large medical bay. There, Jasmine was speaking in hushed, frantic tones to Lijia who was nodding her understanding.

"So I need you to guard them with your life Lijia. I would stay behind, but I believe that it is better this way. If I die, they have a better chance to survive with you than with me if I were to be the only one left. I know you'll keep them safe," she was saying as Kujhade stepped closer. He stopped to observe the twins, who were at Lijia's feet, bouncing on their little chubby knees, and reaching up for her. Their mandibles were now hard enough to audibly click together, and they were making good use of them. He bent down and clicked his mandibles loudly, much to their delight as they mimicked every sound and movement of his mouth.

"Dada! Dada!" They shouted in tandem as they reached for him instead of Lijia. He picked them both up by the scruffs of their necks, making them go limp but they were laughing the whole time.

"Jasmine, I will protect them with my life, you know this. Don't worry sister," Lijia said, taking Marcus from Kujhade, and starting to play with him.

"What're you doing in here Jhade? What's wrong?" Jasmine asked, as she watched him and Mili growl and make faces at each other. She waited patiently as they made the surprised face, then the mad face, then the challenge face, and then Mili managed to make a pouty face complete with lower mandibles put together and then poked out as much as he could. This caused a deep rumbling chuckle to come from Kujhade, as he had never seen a pup make such a face. Jasmine rolled her eyes, but enjoyed watching the babies interact with their father.

"There's nothing wrong except T'chnde says we are near the clan ship," Kujhade said. He watched Jasmine's eyes widen, and then look pensively between Kujhade and the boys.

"Jhade, can we talk privately?" Jasmine asked as she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the medical bay. He grabbed Marcus from Lijia before he left, handed him to Jasmine, and followed his mate to the boy's room.

There were a few moments of silence, as the parents focused on their sucklings. They each held one, and it was as if the babies understood that there was something going on. They quieted down and cuddled into their mother and father. Jasmine planted little gentle kisses all over Marcus' small crest and face. He purred as she kissed and cuddled him, and she could hear Mili doing the same with Kujhade. Father and son had brought their crests together, and the display of affection was enough to bring tears of joy to Jasmine's eyes. How far had they come? From wanting to kill this child to showing open affection for him.

"They love you so much Jhade," she said through her tears. They were falling down her cheeks as she thought about the impending fight. Would she make it back? Would any of them make it back? If they died, if her and Kujhade were killed what would happen to the twins? Lijia said she would take care of them, and Jasmine knew that she would, but the thought of leaving them behind nearly made her weak in the knees.

"Sei-i. I know that they do. They express emotion closer to how a human would do. Sucklings are usually never like this. I believe it is because you show them more affection than a yautja bearer," he said as he turned towards Jasmine, surprised at her tears which she tried to wipe away. Marcus helped by leaning in and trying to lick them. He frowned at the taste and shook his head.

"Why are you crying my mate? What is troubling you?" Kujhade asked, concerned that she would be emotional with a battle to the death looming.

"Maybe it's all a mistake Jhade. Maybe I should take the babies and hide. What if I can't do this? What if we die, what will happen to them? Jhade, and can't bear the thought," she said looking into his green eyes with her large teary hazel ones.

"There is no mistake Jasmine. You are my mate. You are the life mate of a yautja arbitrator, and the bearer of strong yautja pups. You are to fight for this clan, not merely cower and wait for death. At first I too thought to hide you away, but not anymore. You are with me now. You have left behind the life of a human and have taken the yautja way, and yautja females do not shy from a fight, nor shrink from death. Our pups will live and die by the same rules all other yautja have lived and died by, and it will be honorable no matter what the outcome, but I do not intend to lose. I intend to take Setg'in's head and cast it among the stars. I intend to kill any others who side with him, and I intend to protect my mate and pups. Do you trust me?" He asked, stepping into her and lifting her head so that their eyes could once again meet.

"Yes," she said simply, and she did. She trusted him with her life and the lives of her children. She knew that he would die protecting them, would kill to protect them without hesitation. In that moment her love for him grew exponentially until she could no longer contain it. With the babies between them, the couple hugged, careful not to hurt the boys. Purrs kicked up all around, and Jasmine knew that there was no safer place than with her husband.

* * *

Lijia was attending to Nia who had awakened hungry and thirsty. She'd given her water, had checked her vitals, but she had not spoken to her. As far as Lijia was concerned Nia was a nobody. Unless and until Kujhade said otherwise, Nia was not part of this clan. Nia sat up and drank her water, watching Lijia over the rim of the canteen. She watched as Mar'cte made his way inside the medical bay. He waited at the door until Lijia turned to see him.

"Yes?" She asked, turning fully towards him.

"Come," he commanded then stepped out. Lijia followed. He was standing just outside the room with his arms folded over his chest, looking up at the taller female with a stern look. She mirrored him before she spoke.

"We are not Kujhade and Jasmine. If you've got something to say, say it, but you owe me nothing. We are not life mates. We are mating because we are available, do not think for a moment that I have misunderstood us," she stated with a huff. What was he trying to do, be funny? If so, she was not amused.

"Your anger with me will not make our clan leader mate you any faster Lijia," he said coolly, and he could see the flash of anger in her eyes.

"Do not risk your health before the fight by speaking to me in such a way Mar'cte! You have no idea…" she was saying before he suddenly grabbed her, turned her around, grabbed one arm and twisted it behind her back, and managed to bend her over a bit. Her back was pressed against his front, and he pressed her down so that she was kneeled. His mandible grazed the side of her face as he spoke.

"Lijia, I know we are not life mates, but that does not mean that I want to be separated from you. Do you hear me? I know you would rather mate Kujhade, but you have been my mate and I intend to make you forget him once and for all," he growled out as he rubbed himself against her.

"Make a choice. Will you continue to pursue Kujhade when you know there is no chance he will choose you over Jasmine, or will you choose me?" He said, and his tone was more than a little seductive.

Lijia closed her eyes and made a small mewling sound. The sound of submission. She wanted Kujhade true, but she had secretly wished that her and Mar'cte would become more than just convenient mating partners. She knew he would not life mate her, as that was simply not his way. He liked mating different females and always took the opportunity to do it when he could. She was in no delusion, but she felt more for him than she had been letting on. Now that he had submitted her in this way without immediate mating, she understood that he felt a little more as well. Maybe not lifemate status, but certainly an official claim as his preferred mate.

"Mar'cte," she said quietly, her eyes cast down.

"Is that your answer?" He asked, his claws beginning to lightly rake over her dreads, sending a slight shiver down her spine.

"Yes, Mar'cte. I will not offer myself to Kujhade anymore," she told him. He gave a satisfied grunt and helped her to her feet. She turned to him, eyes still downcast.

"Let's make sure of that," he whispered as he grabbed her by the arm and headed towards his quarters.

"But, what about Nia?" She said in light protest.

"The ooman can take care of herself. Come!" He ordered, a smile on his face that she couldn't see. Slowly, her mandibles opened in a smile of her own.

* * *

 **A/N: I know once again that it has been an extremely long time since I have updated this story. I have been going through a lot of difficult things, and I'm just trying to manage all of it. It's difficult now to find the kind of time I need to write my chapters. I know this one is short, but the next one will have the long awaited battle royale I've been building up to all of this time. Also, I wanted this chapter to be the calm before the storm type of thing. Everyone in their own way preparing themselves not only physically, but emotionally as well. Hope you enjoyed it, and thank you all for hanging with me through this story, I really do appreciate it! :)**


	25. By Any Means Necessary (part 1: Jazzy)

The carnage in the hangar was surreal. The Shirxa sisters had begun a massacre of any yautja nearby, and they were still going at it. Myaz was leading the way, stalking two yautja as her sisters were doing the same. The body count was starting to pile up in the sister's favor, and florescent green blood was all over them and the floor. Lira was on the other side of the hangar, being hard pressed by three yautja who had surrounded her.

Setg'in was speechless. He hardly had time to process what he was seeing, and why it was so out of hand. He couldn't even focus on H'chak who was standing next to him with his arms folded over his massive chest, reveling in the mayhem unfolding in front of them. Setg'in went to make a move to stop it, anything to stop it, but H'chak blocked him with a menacing growl.

"They belong to me. If you touch them you die," he growled, but Setg'in had had quite enough of being ordered around. He let loose a growl of his own, and stood his ground.

"They are not yours yet, and I cannot allow them to continue, so if you won't stop them, I will. You'll have to kill me to stop me," Setg'in spat as he moved around H'chak.

The larger yautja extended his double blades and placed them at Setg'in's throat. With another growl, Setg'in extended his own blades and a fight seemed imminent. No one noticed a slight movement, nor the fact that a vessel had docked amid the fighting, until it materialized from seemingly thin air. It was a smooth reveal like pulling the tarp back from a beloved car. No crackle of blue electricity here.

H'chak turned his head to see what was happening, and it was then that Setg'in took the opportunity to kick at his knee, but it didn't even move. With a snarl H'chak belted Setg'in in the face and issued an order without even turning around to face him.

"Do not kill him! He is mine, but I will deal with these lesser yautja scum first!" He bellowed before making his way towards the new enemies.

Before the doors could open all the way, a smart disc whistled through the air, slicing the third Shirxa sister in half just before she delivered a killing blow to a roaring yautja young blood. Dteinou materialized to smoothly snag it out of the air, and deliver a roar of her own. She put the disc away and drew her sword before running towards Myaz. As she got closer she realized that this was not the same Shirxa that had poisoned her, but she would do. Dteinou didn't care anymore about the rule regarding this race. She was going to kill the other two, and any others present.

Kujhade stepped out along with K'var, Mar'cte, and T'chnde at his sides. Immediately Kujhade assessed several issues. One was that there were indeed Shirxa on board and they were causing the most havoc. The next thing was that they were able to move through a ship full of yautja so easily because these were the newly blooded yautja from the chiva earlier. They moved and looked inexperienced despite their fearlessness, and it was getting them killed two and three at a time. Lastly, but certainly not least, was the fact that there were four Berserker Yautja, one of which was holding a fighting Setg'in. The one who appeared the be the leader was making his was quickly and confidently past the fighting young bloods towards Kujhade and his group. There was only one thing these dishonorable aberrations understood. Kujhade would have to kill the leader first, and then perhaps the others would back off. This was easier said than done, but Kujhade was prepared for anything. He hadn't expected to see this breed here, but it didn't matter in the slightest bit.

Underneath his mask H'chak smiled gruesomely. Was this the group that Setg'in feared so much? Pathetic! There were five yautja one of which was a female, but then there was a very small female among them also. This one was no yautja, and when he sniffed the air he smiled a little more. If he wasn't mistaken, this was a small pathetically weak human female. He'd hunted many before, and found them marginally challenging at best, downright laughable at the worst. Then he saw a very pale yautja stalk through the crowd. He was looking right at H'chak and actually was making his way over. Foolish but he at least looked like he might be a few minutes' worth of a challenge.

K'var and Mar'cte made their way over to Lira who had just dispatched two young bloods who lay at her feet. Myaz saw this and thought to come to her sister's aid, but was cut off by Dteinou and T'chnde. Setg'in stopped struggling long enough to recognize that Dteinou was even there. His eyes bulged in his head, as he struggled even more to get out of the grasp of the scout who held him. How could she still be alive, and with Kujhade no less! Quickly he kicked backwards, and when the scout readjusted, Setg'in turned in his arms and stabbed him two times in the side and ran off. He disappeared in the thick of all the chaos, and the scout lost track of him just that fast.

It was Jasmine who saw that little transaction. She'd climbed a large stack of metal containers positioned just out of the way towards a wall. It gave her just enough height for effective shots, sort of like a deadly game of King of the Hill. She had on all her armor and her mask. She had two machete length knives at her side, a smart disc that she wasn't all that adept at using, and her bow in her hand. The very large yautja who had been holding Setg'in had ended up spotting her. There was something off about him. She'd been around plenty of predators, and they were all intimidating in their way, but these were different. They were much larger, and the biggest one of all was headed straight for Kujhade. Jasmine sighed nervously, trying to calm herself but it wasn't working. She was so afraid of failing because failure meant death. She thought about her twins, and she swallowed the lump of her fear and apprehension. She had to survive for them.

Three dots aligned themselves on her chest, and she only had mere seconds to dive out of the way. The blast just missed her, but knocked the crates out from underneath her. So much for that height advantage. She fell in the heap, the falling crates missing her by sheer dumb luck. Quickly she made her way to her feet just as her attacker began to toss the containers like cardboard boxes. He was growling and searching for her amid the mess. Being smaller had its advantages as she was able to scramble behind another stack without being noticed. This little hillock of stacked containers was just a bit higher up, and she wasted no time lining up a shot.

 _Thwang! Thwang!_

Her bow began to sing its deadly song. This time they didn't miss their mark. This predator was scantily clad leaving most of his body exposed. Three arrows sank themselves into his side and thigh. He snarled as he angrily snatched the arrows from his body, zeroed in on her position, and lined up his own shot.

"Shit" she muttered to herself as she jumped down just in time to be missed by a plasma shot. She landed on her feet, but she knew he wasn't going to be distracted. Jasmine readied another shot, but just before she could find a better position, she felt the intense heat of his body and the nearly silent landing he made right in front of her. She only had a few moments to register just how large he was. Much bigger than Kujhade, and still not as large as the one fighting her husband. From her distance, she had grossly misjudged his size. All of this went through her mind in a fraction of a second before she found herself flying backwards through the air. With a resounding smack, Jasmine hit the wall behind her. Good thing she was wearing more armor than any of them. It saved her life, but didn't stop her ears from ringing or the air from being knocked from her lungs on impact.

Suddenly he was standing tall over her once more. Jasmine was struggling to catch her breath, before she found her windpipe cut off by a large hot fist, wrapping itself around her throat like a boa constrictor. He lifted her up and knocked the bow from her hand. He then raised the blade on his wrist and aimed it to cut her head off. Jasmine's vision was starting to narrow as her breathing became more and more restricted. She couldn't see Kujhade or the others, she could only see the monster before her. Setg'in had not interfered and even though she didn't know where he'd gone off to, she couldn't worry about it. Behind his mask he snarled, and she heard the distinct click of laughter afterwards. The bastard thought he had her beat, and maybe he did, but she would take him with her. Blackness and stars edged her vision as he was enjoying choking her. Images of her children flashed in her mind. The was Mili would scream 'yaya' to the top of his little lungs. The way Marcus would cuddle in her arms and purr as she rocked him. No, she couldn't leave her little babies. Jasmine reached down and grabbed one of the machetes from her side and gave his arm a quick slice. She was trying to cut it off, but couldn't put enough power behind the strike. He roared in surprise and went to gut her from the side, but she had just enough adrenaline running through her to kick that arm. Instead of running her through from the side, the blade made a smooth entry and exit through her calf. He pulled it out, a gout of blood rushing from the wound, and went to stab her again, but Jasmine kicked at his arm once more. He couldn't drop the weapon, but he did release her throat after she stabbed him through the upper arm with her machete. He howled in anger and pain as he dropped, her finally. She fell in a heap on the floor, gasping for air and trying to clear the stars from her vision. She began to crawl towards her bow, anything to get some distance between her and the monster yautja. She had only gotten a few feet before she felt a heavily booted foot kick her in the side and send her sliding across the floor. She banged against the landing gear of a ship, her wounded side taking the brunt of the impact.

Through the haze of her vision, she saw him stalking towards her. Jasmine didn't know how she was going to live through this with him. There was simply no way to go blow for blow with him, and he was on to her strategy of keeping distance between them. The pain in her side was nearly debilitating, but she had to tough it out somehow. The blood was still flowing freely from her pierced calf muscle, but it wasn't hurting as much as her ribs. Quickly she tried to take a deep breath, and was relieved to find that she could. Good. That meant that perhaps she'd avoided a set of broken ribs. Jasmine used the landing gear to help her into a sitting position, then slid her way up to standing. She could feel the coppery blood in her mouth and swallowed it back. That worried her, but she didn't have time to think about it. If she paid attention to the potential if internal bleeding, instead of the predator trying his best to kill her, she wouldn't have to worry about anything else ever. She readied both machetes now, one in each hand. She stopped leaning on the ship and crouched as low as possible, and began to circle him. The scout paused for a second, then seemed to nod as he took the time to address her open challenge properly. Jasmine swallowed hard but the lump was stubborn and wouldn't go down. Her circling was immediately taken as a one-on-one battle, something she didn't want to do. She preferred to stay on the outskirts, taking her shots when she could, but now she was in a gladiator match with an opponent many times stronger, meaner, and more experienced than her.

He took off his plasma cannon and dropped it to the floor, which in his mind somehow made the playing field more level. What a joke that was. Maybe if he shrunk a few feet, and lost a few hundred pounds, that might be remotely true. As it stood he kept all his other weapons, brandishing his single wrist blade which was a little longer than her machetes. Then he did something that really Jasmine could have done without. He took off his mask, his long talon-tipped fingers wrapping themselves around its front. HE removed it slowly and Jasmine couldn't help letting out a sound of pure disgust. He looked nothing like the predators she had become accustomed to. The regular yautja were not beautiful. She thought Kujhade was handsome mainly because she liked him and found him sexy. She stared into his face every day, and even though it was an alien face so far from a human countenance, in Kujhade's eyes was not only intelligence, but a capacity for something other than murder. This…. thing, didn't have any of that. There was intelligence in the eyes for sure, but a cold, hard, calculating intelligence. He was smart, but there was nothing in his eyes, or the set of his body or his demeanor that told her that he was capable of anything but wanton violence and death. In his face she saw nothing but a creature hell-bent on nothing more than spilling her guts on the metal floor, and hanging her polished skull on his trophy wall. His eyes sat back on his head, and his mandibles were so large and thick that she could not see a glimpse of his inner mouth except when he gave his terrible roar.

At once it was obvious that this was a different breed of yautja altogether, not just a different tribe. More like the difference between the Homo-Sapiens and the Neanderthal. He seemed to be waiting on her to do something. At first she was confused, then it clicked. He'd taken his mask off, and she was supposed to do the same. She hoped he would hold his breath for that one. If he thought she was taking off a single iota of armor, he was sorely mistaken. Suddenly, there was an uproar, and over the din of the fighting Kujhade's roar came to her loud and distinct from all other sound. Just out of instinct, she turned her head in that direction, but that was a terrible mistake. The Neanderthal she had turned her attention from, had closed the distance, but instead of running her through he gave her a gut punch.

"Oof!" was all she could muster, as she slumped over his fist. That was her fault. How many times had Kujhade warned her not to ever, ever take her eyes or turn her attention away from any enemy? Too many, and now it cost her for real. He grabbed her by the back of her neck and brought her close to his face. He spoke to her in his language, which seemed almost a bastardized form of the language Kujhade spoke. Her translator seemed to have a hard time of it, but she thought it came close.

"Pathetic ooman, not even able to handle a simple fight. Now you will just die," he snarled at her, with what seemed to be an annoyed chuff behind it.

"Fuck you!" she wheezed, once her diaphragm decided it still functioned. He growled at her and shook his head, his five thick dread-like tendrils swaying with the motion. He popped her in her masked mouth with the back of his hand. Her lips swelled immediately and blood filled her mouth. She was forced to swallow it. He was taking his sweet time to kill her, likely reveling in the psychological torture he was causing. This was wonderful, because only she noticed Setg'in creeping behind him. It was typically unacceptable for him to interfere at all in an official fight to the death between two other hunters, but a bad blood will do what a bad blood will do. In this case that meant creeping up on Mr. Neanderthal and literally stabbing him in the middle of his back.

She would never forget the look of utter surprise on his face, and the way he looked in disbelief at the double blades piercing his body. He dropped her like a piece of trash and turned towards Setg'in.

"You!" He bellowed as he attacked Setg'in with everything he had. Despite having only one arm, Setg'in was doing an admirable job of defending against a foe obviously stronger than him. Even so, Neanderthal was wounded. Setg'in had stabbed him even before he attacked Jasmine, and she had even managed a few attacks of her own.

"Yes me, the lesser yautja! You will not leave this ship alive!" Setg'in roared out, and then pressed an attack.

Once again Jasmine was in the position of trying to recover and not give in to her pain and injury. She'd witnessed Setg'in fight before and remembered thinking that if he applied himself more, he could be a force to be reckoned with. Today he was proving this to be fact. Too bad his opponent was as strong and durable as he was, and Setg'in only had one arm to work with. Neanderthal was striking Setg'in with all his force, which had the clan leader going to one knee on every block. Jasmine only had this one chance to make a difference. She had to force it out of her mind that she was helping Setg'in, and focus on the fact that she was killing one of these new kind of yautja.

She heard another uproar, this time coming from K'var and Mar'cte's direction, but she couldn't pay attention to that. If she wanted to help them, she would have to kill this one first. On her hands and knees, she scrambled across the floor towards her bow. Luckily her quiver was still on her back. A few bolts had been scattered everywhere while she was busy getting her ass kicked, but she had enough with her to close the deal, or so she hoped. Jasmine turned her attention back towards the fight between Neanderthal and Setg'in. Hurriedly, she took a position well away from them both and started taking shots.

One after another the bolts whistled through the air, each one finding their mark. One in the thigh, one in the calf, four in the back, three in the left side, one in the right arm. A few of them hit Setg'in but she was careful not to hit him in any vital spots. She needed him alive long enough to occupy Neanderthal. Jasmine let off another shot and that one landed in the larger yautja's back, and buried itself deep between his shoulder blades. He let out a mighty roar and turned in her direction. He raised his arm and soon she found a net flying her way. She had just enough time to get her hand on her smart disc before being pinned to the far wall.

"Fuck!" She yelled as she struggled to get her arm up just a few inches to cut the net. It was tightening fast and to her horror she could see thin red lines of blood where the netting was cutting her. She grit her teeth, and painfully raised her arm enough to start cutting it off. As soon as the first few threads were cut, the smart disc went through it like a hot knife through butter. She spilled out of it onto the floor, and looked up just in time to see Neanderthal on his knees before Setg'in, desperately trying to get the bolt from his back and being unable to do so.

"Must've got your ass right in your muthafuckin heart, bitch," she said to herself. Setg'in was saying something to him that she could not hear. He was toying around with him! Jasmine couldn't believe her eyes. He was standing there taunting big ugly as he died, but in Jasmine's estimation he wasn't dying fast enough.

"You're just about the dumbest asshole I've ever seen," Jasmine said as she took a running start towards the two. As she got closer she realized he had gotten a hand on the bolt and was in the process of pulling it out. Finally, Setg'in had raised his blades but Jasmine got there before his stroke fell. With her bow slung on her back, and now both machetes in her hands again, she buried both in Neanderthal's back with a loud war cry of her own. Just then Setg'in cut of the head of the dying super yautja in front of him cutting off his last roar. Green blood bathed the two reluctant allies, and she had to struggle to keep her balance, as she turned her attention towards Setg'in immediately.

Quickly she withdrew her knives and took up a stance against Setg'in himself, whom she had to admit didn't seem too interested in her presence at all.

"Well?! Bring it on you one-armed bitch! You talked all that shit, now back it up!" Jasmine yelled at him, attempting to goad him into a fight. She knew Kujhade or even Dteinou wanted that opportunity. She also knew that she had a snowball's chance in hell of defeating him, but if she let him walk away without even trying to fight and kill him, she would be worthless as a warrior. What was more, she'd be just a coward turning from an obvious fight. He kneeled to collect Neanderthal's head, then looked up at her as if just now noticing her presence. Asshole. He gave her a once over, shook his head as if to say she wasn't worth obliging the open challenge she had issued, and turned to walk away, cloaking as he did so.

"Oh hell no!" She said as she was about to lunge at him, or at least where he had been a second ago, until she heard Kujhade's roar cut through the cacophony of sound once again. This time she looked his way, and was relieved to find him in top position on the much larger yautja. However, there was a big problem looming. She supposed one of the ring leader's henchmen had had enough of Kujhade winning the fight. He was heading over apparently to "even the odds", and she couldn't have that.

In a growing panic she looked around to see K'var bleeding badly but fighting valiantly along with Mar'cte. They seemed to have beaten that snake bitch, and was all but putting the finishing touches on her. In any case, they were occupied and couldn't help Kujhade. She turned to her left and saw Dteinou engaged one-on-one with one of the other super yautja, and she saw a crowd of young bloods who were apparently still loyal to Setg'in surrounding T'chnde. It was up to her to help Kujhade and Jasmine wasted no time heading his way.

Her ribs and her calf were on fire, and she was limping more than running. That wouldn't do at all. They all carried small emergency medical kits, and Jasmine retrieved hers. Lijia had personally modified the dosages to fit her body, and Jasmine took a syringe and filled it with a quick acting pain killer. Lijia had told her to inject it in a muscle, as closely to an injury as she could. Jasmine followed instructions and injected herself just under the wound.

"Ahh, FUCK!" She screamed as the hot liquid burned its way through her leg. In a matter of seconds, the pain subsided instantly and it spread to her whole body. She wasn't numb, but her pain level dropped from a ten to about a three. She now got into a full sprint towards her husband.

Jasmine had to dodge fighting yautja, and jump over a couple of bodies. She slipped twice in puddles of blood, before she got her footing just in time to see Kujhade on top of the ring leader, and the other one stab him in the side. Kujhade howled in pain, trying to turn to his new assailant, but was being held by the leader.

"Nooooo!" Jasmine yelled, still running all the way across the hangar to Kujhade. In too much of a hurry and panic to get her bow out and line up a proper shot, she got out her smart disc and launched it. It clanged off of the other predator's mask and returned to her hand. She narrowly caught it without slicing off her fingers. Immediately she threw it again just as he was about to stab Kujhade again, but this time the blade caught him on his arm. It was at the wrong angle to sever the arm, but she still got him as she saw a fine spray of blood spurt everywhere. He roared and looked her way. He got off of Kujhade which was what she wanted, but now he was stalking her way. Definitely not what she wanted. Jasmine gulped down a dry lump in her throat. He brandished the blade, Kujhade's blood still dripping from its edge, and it was that sight that made her blood boil instead of run cold with fear. She backed up and this time had enough clarity of mind to draw her bow. Jasmine couldn't explain the level of calm that took over her mind now. She had never really experienced it, but was glad it was there. She felt around in her quiver, breathing a small sigh of relief that she was still carrying a few. She regretted not retrieving them from her fallen enemy, but there was no time to focus on it now. She placed one in the bow and drew. He was coming straight for her in a slow, menacing pace as if he were thinking of all the different ways he could tear her head off. She let the shot fly, but he easily knocked it away. Without hesitation she shot another, then another, all of them knocked out of the air. Then he shook his head and actually wagged a disapproving finger at her.

Giving up on the bow, she took out her two machetes instead and gave them both a little twirl, crouched, and started circling. He stopped, crouched, and let out a blood-curdling roar, then charged directly at her.

"Oh fuck," she mumbled to herself, just as he took a big leap towards her. Then he cloaked.

* * *

 **A/N: So, we've been building up to this point for so long, that I felt that we should just jump right into it. I didn't think there was any reason or room for anymore dialog between any characters. Now, my first critic (hubby) didn't like the fact that this fight scene is from Jasmine's POV, and he also thought her fighting was unrealistic. In a sense I can see what he's saying. By all rights Jasmine should have been dead a while back, but I don't want to kill her. She doesn't deserve to die :) In any case, I intend to write each fighting chapter from a different character's POV. I wanted to write Jasmine first and sort of get her out of the way, but I also wanted to really focus on each character's fight. So the next few chapters will weave in everybody's fight and hopefully keep continuity between them.**


	26. By Any Means Necessary (part 2: Dteinou)

Mar'cte and K'var moved fluidly around each other as if they'd spent their whole lives fighting side by side. It was weird, or it should have been given the fact that yautja typically did not hunt together on the same grounds at the same time, and neither did they fight in teams. It would have been almost beautiful had it not been a blood-soaked dance of death. The Shirxa was growing frustrated as the two yautja before her did not seem to belong to this ship or this clan. Lira thought she would cut them down easily as she had done the ones who now lay at her proverbial feet, but she found that they were not so easily taken care of.

With a snarling hiss, she readied herself for their attack as they circled her. She couldn't watch both, but she could feel them moving around when they went out of sight. Instead of carrying a bow like Anara did, she relied only on her talons, her fangs, her quickness, and her deadly range of venoms. Lira slithered back as Mar'cte advanced. She could have sworn he was laughing, although she found nothing funny about this situation.

"You won't be laughing for long after I liquefy you from the inside out!" She threatened, and spat a thick glob of venom at him. Mar'cte leaped away just in time and threw his disc at her, managing to chop off some of her hair. She screeched as a whitish liquid poured from the severed tendrils. He recovered his disc and was about to toss it again, when K'var buried his spear in her lower coils, severing part of her tail from the rest of her. A hot gout of blood poured from it, as Lira whirled around to face the second attacker. K'var couldn't get out of the way before she raked his entire torso from the collarbone to his Adonis belt with her long claws. He gave a single chuff, collapsed his spear, and brought out his twin blades, a gauntlet on each forearm. He was bleeding terribly, and apparently he was now poisoned as he felt the intense heat in the wounds which seemed unnatural to him. He kicked at her flopping tail tip, as the muscles made it twitch and move all over the floor, and then leaped onto her.

Lira backpedaled as she had not expected such a bold attack. She'd raked him with a neurotoxin which should have paralyzed him, but apparently it hadn't worked all that well. He was fighting through it and was on her now with his blades. She was standing tall on her tail now, hovering at least a good five feet or so over K'var. He had to leap to attack her, which he didn't seem to mind doing in the least bit. Every time he took a leap, his blades and her claws clanged together, sending sparks flying through the air. He was angry. Sure if he lived he would have fabulous scars to boast to a female about, but that was if he lived. He didn't know anything about these creatures except what his sire had told him, and that hadn't been much. It was Dteinou who had warned him of their various poisons and venoms, so he was sure the heat he felt pouring from the wounds and seeming to soak into his very bloodstream was one of said poisons. K'var was pressing such a ferocious attack, until she forgot about Mar'cte. A very stupid and dangerous thing to have done. Mar'cte circled around back, careful to avoid her lashing, bloody tail stump. He was trying to find an opening to attack, when he suddenly had an idea. Instead of avoiding her tail, he jumped onto it, anchoring himself with his wrist blades. Lira let loose another hissing screech, but could hardly get to the yautja climbing her back. She turned her attention to Mar'cte anyway, and paid a price. K'var had taken another leap, going for more deadly shots now that he was starting to feel fatigued and strangely numb. She attempted to ward off this attack with her claws, but he twisted his body in midair, changing his attack just enough to get inside her defenses. With one hack he took her hand off, and then jumped back before she could get him with the other.

"How dare you?!" She hissed in pain and disbelief. She briefly looked at the bloody stump where her hand used to be. She saw him ready himself for yet another launching attack, when she felt a pain hit her which was so devastating that she could not even scream. Her ruby red eyes were wide in shock and horror, as she looked down to see the familiar tip of a common yautjan spear protruding from between her breasts.

"Noooo….. Myaaazzzz!" She screamed but could not see her sister. Lira was dying, and as such there was only one thing left to do. Mar'cte was on her back digging the spear deeper and deeper, until he smelled something acrid assault his senses. Before he could warn K'var, the young hunter had already hacked off her other hand, and with no way to defend against it, he'd gotten on her front and was now grabbing her venom soaked tendrils and snatching them from her skull. She let loose another other-worldly cry and the smell became stronger, and now resembled the scent of burning rubber. Mar'cte looked down to see that her whole body was now secreting an inky black venom. He knew it wasn't blood, this was something else, some last ditch effort to live or to kill them or both.

"K'var, do not touch her skin!" Mar'cte warned, but it was too late. With a victorious roar, K'var had taken Lira's head off her shoulders, and was holding it up even as her headless body jerked and twitched. Her arms flailed as if she were still fighting, and her eyes blinked and looked around blindly. K'var leaped off her body and watched briefly in amazement as her head seemed to stay alive for a few prolonged moments. He had to keep it at arm's length since she was still biting and frothing at the mouth. It stopped after a few seconds and her eyes rolled back into her skull. With another grunt, K'var placed the head in his trophy bag and turned towards Mar'cte who was looking at him curiously.

"Young blood, get that venom off of you immediately before you join the Black Hunter sooner than you wish," Mar'cte warned.

"Aaaaahhhhh!"

The two hunters turned towards the scream. It was Jasmine. They both had to come around a parked ship to see what was what. Mar'cte's eyes bulged at what he saw. First, Kujhade didn't seem to be doing so well. Second, Jasmine was in much worse shape. One of the Berserkers had her now by the throat and was shaking her back and forth like a rag doll, banging her body against the side of a ship relentlessly. Mar'cte looked quickly between the two, finally seeming to come to a decision.

"K'var, help your sire's mate, I will see about my brother!" He commanded and raced off before K'var could protest. He thought it should have been the other way around, but he had no choice. In any case he owed Jasmine a debt for helping him when his father had banned him from receiving any aid.

He was feeling woozy and light-headed now that he had paused in his fighting. Damn Shirxa! He shook his head, crouched, spread his arms, and roared at the Berserker intending to put him on notice, but it didn't work. That abominable creature was too wrapped up in killing his sire's life mate. K'var knew he would never be able to face his sire if he didn't intervene, and quickly. With another roar, he ran to Jasmine's aid.

* * *

Dteinou and H'chak's right hand man circled each other. She was as tall as he was, but not as thick or wide. She held her katana in both hands like a Samurai. She always fought in that style while wielding that weapon, in honor of the Samurai warrior she had bested for it. She'd studied the style, and found that the straight-forward way it was executed, along with the strict code of honor was appealing to her. Dteinou had mastered the style in her own right, and had blended it seamlessly with the customary yautja's way of fighting. Her willingness to embrace the art of the kill from other races, and merciless attitude towards all enemies, made her extremely dangerous. Most other yautja did not understand the fighting style and found it difficult to combat. This pleased her. Every time her sword stroke fell, someone either died or was close to. H'chak's clan brother was well on his way to learning this critical lesson.

"Come now you yautja bitch! Give Halkrath your head and let's be done with it!" He said, chuckling arrogantly at her. Dteinou simply stood, sword out in front of her and low, almost as if she didn't intend to use it. She seemed to be staring straight forwards only, but she was watching Halkrath like a hawk. She watched as he barely made any effort to guard himself. He was more than formidable, but Dteinou had not become who she was by facing down anything less. His middle was unguarded as he circled her nonchalantly, and every once in a while, he would give her a bit of a once over. Dteinou noticed this about the second or third time he'd done it.

"Or how about I take your head after I fuck you to death? Halkrath would like that very much" he said, his tone dropping along with his stance. He was now facing her, thinking perhaps since she hadn't spoken that he might want to pay a little more attention.

Little did he realize that in light of her recent misadventures, that was just the right threat to ensure his death, whether she died or not. Just the very thought of it sent shivers of disgust down her back, but Dteinou did not move a muscle. She had even stopped circling him altogether.

"Don't talk much? Fine. I'll enjoy killing you anyway!" He said and rushed towards her heedlessly. Dteinou switched the position of her feet, and brought the blade up just to hip height on her left side. She took two steps forward, and then drug the sharp blade across from left to right.

She stopped on a dime and turned, sword ready for the next clash. Halkrath was standing there facing her, wondering how he'd missed her. He didn't seem to notice he was cut deeply across his abdomen, until his blood started running down his legs. He glanced from himself, to the blade of her sword now currently featuring his blood, and the way she seemed to be silently taunting him to challenge her. He was beyond fury.

"You pauk'de bitch!"

He was frightening in his speed once he decided to stop playing and fight. This time when he came towards her he didn't try to grab her or pounce. He decided to play her little game. His long single wrist blade was as long as the sword she was carrying, and his sword skills weren't too shabby either, if he were to say so himself.

Underneath her mask, Dteinou gave a satisfied chuff. He was an idiot if he thought he could beat her this way. For every one of his strikes she had a smooth parry and counterattack ready. She moved her feet in straight lines, backwards, forwards, or to either side, never putting her back against a wall or fighting herself into a corner. All around them, the bodies of the dead and dying lay sprawled at their feet. The remaining young bloods had either been killed by the Shirxa, the Berserkers, or had backed off in confusion of not knowing who they should attack.

Halkrath did not like where this was going. It didn't seem like much, but he was accumulating quite the collection of cuts on his arms and legs, not to mention the horrible wounds on his abdomen. He decided to make her play by his rules now. He advanced on her, striking at her head, but she blocked the overhand attack. Once she brought her hands up, Halkrath took the opportunity to give her a crushing punch to the ribs. It backed Dteinou up, not much but enough to allow Halkrath to jump her. With a roar he knocked her to the floor, simultaneously making her drop her sword. Now he had her where he wanted her. It was a tremendous struggle but he was finally able to straddle her, and he began to punch her all about the face and head. She raised a single arm to protect herself, but grabbed her long knife and gave him four or five stabs to the side to get him off of her. She had to sink them in deep, to get him to pause in his assault. He raised up on his knees and backhanded her so hard, her mask came flying off. She roared and went for his throat on the next swipe, but he grabbed her wrist and crushed it.

The pain was incredible. Her eyes watered, she roared, and then plowed right through it. She'd been hurt worse than that on many occasions. Now they were at a choking stalemate, with both having a hand wrapped around the throat of the other. Her other wrist wasn't functional and hurt like hell, but her legs worked fine. She kneed him in the lower back. It didn't so much hurt as it served to get him completely off balance. With one last good knee to the back, Dteinou was able to twist her hips enough to get the leverage she needed to get up. She practically threw him off of her, roaring at him again as the two faced each other on all fours. She launched herself at him, ignoring the broken wrist and swollen hand. The blades on that gauntlet still worked, so no reason not to use them. She just had to make sure her other hand remained useful or else she would be done for. Dteinou attacked him mercilessly. She was able to get underneath him, lift him, then slam him suplex style back to the floor. Halkrath had heard that the females were generally stronger than the males of her breed, but he hadn't expected this. He had at least a hundred pounds over her, but it didn't seem to matter. She was fierce and her fighting style unorthodox. Not to mention he was bleeding profusely from his abdomen, the wounds too deep and finely cut for the blood to clot.

Despite the searing pain in his gut and all along his limbs, Halkrath gathered himself and gave another bone rattling roar. No way should this inferior yautja bitch get the best of him! He was Halkrath dammit! Number two only to H'chak, the fiercest hunter he had ever seen! He should have overcome her already, but here she was, her broken wrist nothing to her as she pounded him over and over. He was about to try to end it with a blow to her unprotected head when he felt it. The most horrible pain he had ever endured. She had stopped trying to punch him, and instead dig both hands into the wounds on his stomach. She gave a cry, the pain in her wrist and hand intense, but she had to take her opportunity to end him now. Dteinou grabbed a handful of his guts and ripped them from the wound. He cried out, a terrible sound but music to her ears. His steaming entrails slid to the floor in bright green piles as she grabbed another handful and ripped them from their moorings. He could both hear and feel himself being literally torn from the inside out. This was the end. They both knew it, but she would pay long after he was gone. With his last remaining wits, Halkrath unclipped a small vial of the poison he had gathered from Anara. He wasn't even fully sure what it was capable of but he knew whatever it did, it would be devastating. He flipped open the small container and dashed its contents in Dteinou's face.

She screamed in surprise, falling back off of him with another handful of his guts following her. Halkrath tried to get away by turning over, but he gave up his back and Dteinou jumped him. She placed him in a rear naked choke, managing to wrap his own entrails around his throat, choking him to death. He was too shocked and in too much pain to even struggle anymore. He stared up at the ceiling as the life left him and he went completely limp. With a disgusted grunt, Dteinou pushed the dead body off of her, and hurriedly got to her feet. She didn't know what he'd hit her with but she had to get it off of her face. She reached for her medical kit, fumbled a second before securing it in her good hand, then managed to open it. She kept her watering eyes closed tightly as she felt each bottle. Pick the wrong one, and she'd melt her face clean off. The correct bottle contained a watery substance not unlike saline solution. She grabbed what she assumed was the right bottle, dropped it, cursed, picked it up and finally got it open. She poured it onto her face and felt instant relief. Just as she cracked one of her eyes open, Dteinou saw a smallish figure in front of her. She swiped with her blade and heard a yelp.

"Please! Huntress! I mean no harm; I only want to help you!" She heard a young female voice say. Dteinou shook her head and opened both her eyes. Her vision was blurry, but she thought she recognized this little pup. It was the server girl from the mess hall. Angrily, Dteinou found her mask and placed it back on her face.

"No place for pups! Almost killed!" Dteinou growled at her through the mask, angry that she could have killed the young female.

"No great Dteinou! You have to help! I saw Setg'in go towards that ship you came in and you're the only one I could reach! You have to get him!" the young female pleaded.

"Are you sure?!" Dteinou asked, grabbing the young pup by her shoulders.

"Yes. He cloaked but I saw him take something from that ooman female and go to the ship," the young female explained. Dteinou's eyes went wide. If he'd taken something from Jasmine to get to the ship that meant that one, Jasmine was incapacitated or dead, and two the only thing useful for Setg'in to take would be Jasmine's gauntlet since it would allow entry onto the ship.

"Come little pup! Earn place with yautja!" Dteinou proclaimed as the young female gladly followed behind. Dteinou retrieved her sword, and cut off Halkrath's head with it. She retrieved his wrist gauntlet and fastened it to the young female. It slipped down, but the young pup pushed it back up and tightened it, balling her fists to keep it from falling off completely. Dteinou grunted her approval.

"Name pup?" Dteinou asked as they made their way to Kujhade's ship.

"I don't have a name," she admitted, hanging her head. An unblooded pup was not allowed a title.

"Earn your name. Now, come!" Dteinou said as she made her way across the large hangar towards the ship. Her vision was clearing slowly but surely and with nothing more than a slight irritation to her eyes. She wondered absently if the poison was working to kill her slowly, but didn't have time to do anything more than irrigate her eyes again. While she could see, she could fight, and while she could fight Setg'in was not safe from her hands.

* * *

The ship doors hissed open smoothly. Setg'in took a cautious look around, and sensing no presence, stepped all the way in. Surprisingly, it was a very nice ship. Modest, was large enough to have at least one good sized kehrite if not two, and boasted a large common area. He knew that when they all left, Jasmine was pregnant. She was very un-pregnant now, and he wondered if she had given successful birth, or if it had proven too much of a strain for her weak body to handle.

When the doors slid shut, one could almost forget the terrible bloodbath happening right outside. With Jasmine's wrist gauntlet in hand, Setg'in strode more and more confidently through the ship. He didn't know exactly what he was looking for, nor what he hoped to accomplish by being there, but he thought he would know it when he saw it. Somehow, he had to gain the upper hand in such an out of control situation. The stupid female had aided him in killing one of his would be tormentors, but she was likely dead now. He'd taken the gauntlet from her seemingly lifeless body. The predator who had killed her was busy with another hunter whom Setg'in did not recognize.

As he made his way around, he saw no one but couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. He flipped through a few visual spectrums but there was still no sign of any life. Setg'in walked all around the main level, even checking the bridge. Nothing. He didn't trust it at all. The more he didn't see or hear anything, the more on edge he became. It could be some sort of trap, but he was in there now so he had to see it through. He checked the medical bay, opening the door with his weapon drawn, but still there was no one. It was very clean as if it had never been used. He couldn't even smell any fresh scents. Setg'in decided to check the upper level. These kinds of ships usually had private quarters on the upper levels. When he climbed the stairs he checked every room, until he came upon what had to be Kujhade and Jasmine's shared space. He took a big whiff and smiled. The very faint smell of mating was still lingering, as if it had been done days ago. Still, there was nothing there that he could use to his advantage. He was beginning to think this was a pointless endeavor until he ran upon the twins' room.

"So you were able to give birth. I don't know if I should be impressed or even more disgusted that it worked," he said to himself as he looked around the room filled from top to bottom with all sorts of children's items. He briefly perused all of them, not recognizing many, and chalking that up to them being ooman things. Then he stumbled upon a small device. He picked it up and inspected it. It seemed to be some communication device although the material used to create it was beyond inferior to anything he'd ever seen. It was tiny in his hands, and he was about to put it down until it started talking. Startled, Setg'in growled a bit but then listened. After a moment, he smiled and turned from the room, device in hand.

* * *

Nia, was sitting in a rather cramped space in the bowels of the ship. She had not been long awakened from her extended beauty rest, when they arrived to duke it out with Setg'in and his crew. She had desperately wanted to help. Everyone seemed to have a score to settle with Setg'in, and she was no different. It was all his fault that Tia was dead, and he needed to join that big yautja in the sky himself for that alone.

Everyone left the ship except Lijia, who was rather mean to Nia upon her waking. It was Lijia who decided that Nia needed to be bait should any undesirables enter the confines of the ship.

 _"At all costs the pups must be protected, and you are going to help me do it," Lijia had demanded as soon as everyone left. Nia was sitting on the edge of the cot as she watched Lijia prepare the twins. They were oddly quiet except for Marcus who growled at Nia every time he was brought into the med bay with her._

 _"What do you want me to do? I just woke up, and I don't wanna take care of those….babies," Nia said. She was unprepared for the way Lijia aggressively got into her face._

 _"You have shown nothing but dishonor and disrespect to our clan leader and his mate, and I will not have more!" Lijia yelled in Nia's face. Nia brought her hand up defensively._

 _"Okay, okay goddamn! What do you want outta me?" Nia asked, but Lijia was not mollified at all and growled at her._

 _"You're bait," she said as she handed Nia one of the baby monitors._

 _"This is a communication device of some sort which Jasmine explained to me. You will take a position in hiding on this ship. If anyone comes here who is not part of our clan, then we must kill them, but I will have the pups with me. I may not be able to kill an intruder on my own, so a bit of deception is needed," Lijia explained. Nia took the baby monitor, but then shook her head in confusion._

 _"Okay if someone comes on the ship why can't we just hide? Wouldn't that be easier than trying to trick them and risk our lives?" Nia asked. Now that she'd come to think about it, facing down Setg'in or any other yautja wasn't something she was up to doing on her best day, let alone now. She was still kind of sore from the beating she received from Jasmine._

 _"There is really only one yautja who would think to come here, or have reason to search and that is Setg'in. No one else would even think there was anything or anyone even on this ship at all. Setg'in knew that Jasmine was pregnant when they left, and he would seek out the pups to either kill them, or use them in some way against my clan leader, and we cannot tolerate it. We cannot be found together, and he must not be allowed to find the pups. So, you will draw him away. You are bait," Lijia explained again._

 _"Are you for real?! You mean to tell me I've gotta take one for the damn team, and I'm not even a full member?! Oh hell no!" Nia was saying before she received a smack from Lijia. It was light for the yautja, but busted Nia's lip all over again._

 _"Today you will show honor even if you have none!" Lijia screamed, and suddenly Nia was afraid of her. Lijia was always so laid back._

 _"You harmed these pups, but today you will protect them even if it costs you your pathetic life. So you better hope Setg'in does not come here, because if he does it will be you that he finds, not these pups," she warned and finished making her preparations._

So here she was, cramped in a storage unit in the bottom of the ship. She'd been humming to herself to pass the time until she noticed movement on the ship. Lijia had given her a small device that rendered a real time recording of the ships interior. She watched the door and sure enough, Setg'in had entered. Nia watched as he made his way all around. Lijia was correct, he was looking for the babies, or in this case baby since he wouldn't have known there were twins. At first she thought to just let him pass without saying anything into the baby monitor, but thought back to Lijia. The mild mannered yautja doctor was not pleased with her, and Nia had no doubt Lijia would hurt or kill her if she shirked her duty today. The sweat in Nia's palms almost made her drop the damn monitor, but she held on to it. Swallowing down a lump of fear and horrible anxiety, Nia spoke into the monitor.


	27. By Any Means Necessary (Trump Card)

The leader marched right up to Kujhade, and Kujhade responded in kind. He saw Jasmine split off from him to find a better spot, but he still felt apprehensive about her being here. In fact, he was downright afraid of it, but what other choice was available to him? Under the circumstances, none at all. Kujhade extended his spear and assumed his fighting stance, foregoing any posturing or roaring of any sort. This one didn't seem easily intimidated in any case. H'chak stopped short right in front of Kujhade and gave him a long once over.

"So, you are the leader of some unknown and insignificant clan," H'chak said, the statement falling just short of a question. He expected Kujhade to posture, or at least ask some inane question of his own but there was nothing but a spear tip swung at his head. H'chak ducked and stepped back. Usually this breed was afraid of his own, but this leader didn't seem to be concerned with it either way. H'chak stepped back again, which gave Kujhade a momentary pause.

"Who are you, and why do you come only to fight without words? Your kind are usually bound by one ridiculous code of honor or another," he asked, wondering out loud. True he had marched up to Kujhade with obvious intent to kill simply because that was the way of it, but this clan leader and his crew had gotten off their ship fighting with nary a word passed between anyone. H'chak had to know who this bold but foolish small clan leader was.

"Do you want to talk or fight?! As soon as I spotted you, I understood that Setg'in had roped you into fighting his battle because he is a pauk'de coward, and you are just a bloodthirsty idiot!" Kujhade said, pleased that H'chak seemed taken aback by the quick assessment. Kujhade shook his head slightly.

"If you thought he had any intention of giving you those Shirxa I see, in exchange for our heads, you're an even bigger idiot than I thought," he said. H'chak growled at that and readied his own spear.

"H'chak will have your head!" He declared loudly. Kujhade gave his spear a slow twirl and lowered his stance.

"You can have those Shirxa if you want. They will soon be dead, and you will join them!" Kujhade yelled and charged the larger yautja.

H'chak wasn't worried about this, even though this so called clan leader attacked with ferocity. Elders, warriors, high ranking hunters, arbitrators, and so many more had all fallen by his hand. Setg'in was more of a coward than he had first believed to have feared this small group so much. Kujhade also was not worried, at least not about himself. He was concerned with Jasmine who he had seen get attacked, but he couldn't be distracted by that. She was there to fight, and death was more than a mere possibility for her in this situation. All Kujhade could do now was kill the bad blood before him. Setg'in had brought a fearsome breed of yautja here to do his dirty work, but Kujhade would simply have to remove the obstacle. He still had his preferred weapon, but Kujhade decided upon his spear to keep a bit of distance from his opponent. It would be important not to expend too much energy matching strength for strength, especially in the beginning of the fight. He would need to finish off H'chak as quickly as possible, but that was easier said than done.

Both yautja wielded their respective spears, clashing over and over, neither of them yielding under the attack of the other. They were both masters of the weapon and after several minutes of not landing a single scratch on each other, they both backed off to assess the situation. For Kujhade's part, he was highly disappointed. He had performed a few complicated maneuvers, and not one of them had made any significant damage. H'chak felt much the same, noticing that his opponent was not even breathing hard from the effort. Angered, he threw his spear and decided upon his wrist gauntlet. Seeing what was happening, Kujhade went for his preferred weapon, although he merely collapsed his spear rather than toss it to the side. Lengthening his sword into a whip, Kujhade snapped it a few times. H'chak tilted his head towards it.

"A T'vyrion whip?! Somewhat impressive that you could best one for it. Perhaps you'll be more challenging than I thought!" H'chak exclaimed, excited for some sort of challenge finally.

Kujhade gave an irritated huff and snapped the whip at H'chak's head. He blocked the strike with his arm, allowing the whip to twine itself around. With a hard yank, the blades tore through H'chak's flesh as Kujhade pulled it back to himself. Green blood ran, and the flesh of H'chak's arm had a winding gash where the whip blades had cut. He shook it off as if it were nothing and came at Kujhade, or at least he tried. He'd underestimated Kujhade's skill with the rare weapon, and consequently was held in check by it. Every time he sought to advance, the sting of the whip was there to greet and rebuff him. The decision not to wear much armor was backfiring big time on H'chak. He was blocking some of the strikes, and his arms were paying a heavy price. In the background, they could both hear Jasmine's shrill screams. They seemed to spur Kujhade on to fight harder, more fiercely. From the reaction, H'chak gathered that the small human female was Kujhade's mate. How ridiculous! Who would want to mate a being so weak and inferior? It actually made H'chak angry to think about it. This breed of yautja was confused and nothing more than a blight of weakness on the whole race.

He roared at Kujhade and ran at him, heedless of the whip that almost tripped him. H'chak jumped his shorter adversary and proceeded to hold Kujhade in a bear hug with one enormous arm, and stab him in the back and sides with the other. His whip was no good at such close range, even collapsed. Kujhade had no choice but to grab his smart disc in one hand, and return the favor being done to him. The two rolled around the floor, locked in heap of blades, muscles, and bright green blood. Kujhade was taking the most damage, as pound for pound H'chak was bigger and stronger. Along with the actual stabbing, something else was happening. Quickly Kujhade surmised that he might actually be getting poisoned, but there was nothing to be done about it. Not fighting or worse, surrendering, wasn't even a distant thought in his mind. He felt his energy draining with each passing moment, but he couldn't stop. With one great heave, he managed to rear back and head-butt H'chak right under the chin, and that made the Berserker release him from the bear hug. Just as Kujhade was trying to gain top mount, he felt the crushing weight of someone else on his back, and the familiar sting of being stabbed again.

Kujhade's mind raced. How was he going to get out of it with two of them? His mind strayed to Jasmine. He thought he was on his way to the Black Hunter, when he heard her cry out, gaining the attention of the hunter who had jumped him from behind.

No!

Why would she draw their attention away? She knew there was no way she could challenge them, yet she was foolishly doing so anyway. He couldn't allow it, yet the one who had gotten on his back got up suddenly. From the corner of his eye, Kujhade saw Jasmine backing away, her bow drawn and firing shots. He needed to get to her, protect her, but there was still H'chak to worry about. Suddenly Kujhade was exhausted. His muscles felt hot and weak, his head was pounding, his heart was racing faster than it should, but he had to keep fighting. Losing here meant losing his mate, his pups, and his clan; everything he had ever cared for and he could not even fathom the thought of such loss. Lightheaded and dizzy, Kujhade made it to his feet. He tried to shake it off, but his vision was starting to blur.

"What's wrong hunter? Not feeling well?" H'chak asked, unable to hide the sinister glee in his voice at Kujhade's condition.

"You know, I did not even know what her poison would do, and in truth it didn't matter to me, but it's interesting to see you reduced this way. You gave a good fight, hunter, but it is time to give me your head to mount on my wall," H'chak said, once again brandishing his long bloodied wrist blade.

Wearily Kujhade stood to full height and roared loudly. H'chak outright laughed at the display.

"The last cry of the weak, desperate, and soon to be dead. Go ahead and do it again, I want to have the pleasure of cutting that roar right out of your throat," he told Kujhade as he stepped closer.

Grabbing a second smart disc from his hip, Kujhade now had one in each hand. Instead of throwing them, he held firm to them. He took two well aimed swings at H'chak, but they were easily blocked as the larger yautja yanked Kujhade's tendrils, exposing his throat for the killing blow. By this time Kujhade was beyond exhaustion. His muscles felt like burning hot lava was being poured over them. His breathing was ragged and severely labored. He could barely move anymore, but he would never give anyone the satisfaction of seeing him beg or submit to the inevitable. Kujhade roared again, loud and long. It was filled with an overwhelming sense of having failed himself and his clan. He had failed in regaining his honor, in protecting his mate and his pups. He had lost his life in the most miserable way possible, at the hands of the hired help. He was helpless as H'chak forced him to his knees, head still pulled back. Kujhade stared up at his killer as H'chak raised his blade ready to strike at his neck. Still roaring as the strike began to fall, it was cut short and died in his throat as the impossible happened.

Another roar overshadowed Kujhade's own, as Mar'cte came flying at H'chak. He tossed his spear which drove itself through the chest of the larger yautja, just missing his heart. It came out the other side, and the force of the attack drove H'chak backwards, bowing his back and pinning him like an insect. He had no choice but to use both hands to hold onto the spear to keep from sliding down its length to the floor. Suddenly Mar'cte was over him, wrist blade drawn. This time it was H'chak's own neck exposed for the kill. Unlike his smaller brethren, he wore no neck guard as a boast of his strength. Unceremoniously, Mar'cte ripped the mask from H'chak's broad, red face, then removed his own.

"I wanted you to get a good look at whose wall your head was going to mount," Mar'cte said ominously. H'chak gave no reply except his own defiant roar, but it was cut short by one clean slice through his throat. With a thunk, his head hit the floor and rolled a short way before it stopped. Without gathering his trophy, Mar'cte immediately turned his attention towards his clan leader.

Kujhade was on all fours on the floor, mask off and gasping for air that wouldn't enter his lungs. Each breath was like his last as he struggled with a constricting feeling in his chest. Mar'cte kneeled down next to him and quickly got Kujhade's medical kit out. He had no idea what kind of poison he'd been affected with, but he had to take a chance on something. Mar'cte suddenly wished Lijia was here now, but pushed that thought out as quickly as it had come in.

"Brother! Hold on!" Mar'cte said as he gathered a syringe and filled it with a milky white substance.

"This will give you strength," he said, as he coaxed Kujhade to lay on his back. He then plunged the long needle through Kujhade's thick sternum and into his heart. With a roar which bordered on a scream, Kujhade bolted up and onto his feet, snatching the syringe from his chest. His breathing was clearing, but his vision remained blurred. He could tell the energy was a false one, but right now he would take it over the feeling of impending death he was suffering. He was trying to scan the space for Jasmine when he heard the disheartening sound of her screaming, then a loud thump as her body smacked against something hard. Kujhade and Mar'cte rushed towards the sound.

* * *

T'chnde had been itching for a fight lately, but hated what he was doing now. At his feet lay youngbloods, broken and dead. Many of them he did not know personally, but some of them he had even helped to train here or there for their chivas. This saddened him more than he wanted to admit, but it didn't stop him from killing each and every one of them. He'd seen Jasmine attacked, and was about to make his way towards her, when he saw both Kujhade and Mar'cte doing the same. Not to mention K'var was also fighting although seeming not to be faring too well. He then turned his attention towards where Dteinou might have been, and spotted her moving towards the ship. That was odd. He was sure she wasn't fleeing from battle, and she also had what appeared to be a young pup behind her.

T'chnde decided to go and aid Dteinou with whatever she was planning to do. He made it to her just as she was nearing the ship.

"Dteinou, what's going on?" He asked her, the question encompassing both what her intentions were for going back to the ship, and what this young female pup was doing with her. Before she could give a reply, they were blocked by the last remaining young bloods. They formed a loose barrier between the small group and the ship. T'chnde gave his spear a half spin.

"Are all of you this blind and stupid? Do you not realize you are fighting for a bad blood?!" T'chnde asked angrily, as he brandished his spear. Dteinou growled menacingly at the small group. She stood tall before them, and pointing to herself began to speak as best she could.

"Dteinou, matriarch enforcer! Do you challenge me?!" At that open invitation, all the young bloods exchanged unsure looks, and backed away with their heads down. Dteinou stepped through the group. Keeping a watchful eye, the small female and T'chnde followed suit. They were about to enter the ship when all three heard a voice call to them.

"Help….me…pleasssssee," the voice said. They all turned to see Myaz crawling towards them. Immediately, the small group of young bloods went to finish her off, but Dteinou stopped them. She turned to T'chnde and motioned towards the injured Shirxa.

"Decide what to do. I must save sucklings," she told him and turned towards the ship, small female pup in tow. Myaz moved to block Dteinou, but without any aggression in her stance. Dteinou considered just loping her head off since it was so close to her blades, but something stopped her. Myaz mistook it for pity, but it was simply Dteinou recalling her values as a yautja. Shirxa were still unlawful to hunt and kill, and her having been ensnared by one didn't change that. In fact, Anara was present neither among the living nor the dead. Perhaps she had met her own fate. Dteinou could only hope it was a gruesome one, but as she looked down at the disgraced and defeated creature before her, Dteinou did find within herself a small kernel of mercy.

Unexpectedly, Myaz bowed low, her bleeding head touching the metal floor beneath her.

"Please, spare me. We only attacked because they killed Anara. Took her away, killed her, and together they decided it. So, we attacked for fear that we were next," Myaz said, her voice full of emotion but short of crying.

"You would lie to save your own self," T'chnde said, stepping forward perhaps to deliver the coupe-de-grace, before the young female grabbed his arm. He turned his mask in her direction.

"She isn't lying, and you know this hunter. Setg'in did take the other one, and I overheard them strike a deal about them too. She was right to fear," the young pup said. The ring of truth was undeniable. The Shirxa was being truthful about fear of death or worse, being the motivating factor for their preemptive attack.

T'chnde reluctantly withdrew his spear, looking to Dteinou for approval. Aside from being his mate, she outranked him and her decision in the matter was final. She gave the slightest of nods, then glanced over to the ship. Every moment wasted here deciding on the fate of a creature who was already likely half-dead, the sucklings came a little closer to their own death. Not to mention Nia and Lijia if all went to Setg'in's plan, whatever that might have been.

"I can help you," Myaz piped up, hopeful now that it seemed her life was to be spared. "Your leader, the white one, will die without me," she pointed out.

Dteinou and T'chnde looked around only to spot that Kujhade didn't seem to be faring all that well. K'var seemed in even worse shape, and only Mar'cte appeared to be making a difference there. Both the sire and the son showed signs of heavy fatigue along with an extremely haggard look. Rare was it to see any yautja ill, but in all her long years, Dteinou had seen two sick yautja. Both ended in death mercifully performed by a higher ranking yautja. Kujhade and K'var looked eerily like the two she recalled and it shook her up a little.

"What is wrong with him? Speak!" Dteinou ordered, the voice from her mask stoic and calm despite her obvious emotion.

"Venom of death. It belongs to Anara. I can smell it. Whomever is poisoned with it will die a slow and agonizing death to be sure," Myaz warned. Dteinou let out an irritated huff.

"Not poison. I am fine, nothing happened," she told. Myaz stared for a moment, then shook her head slowly as if it pained her to move it much.

"If you're saying it got on you, but you felt no effect then that only means one thing. You are immune. You must have taken an antidote from her, or been exposed to her venom and lived," the Shirxa said matter-of-factly. It all fell into place for Dteinou. She'd indeed been exposed many times to Anara's venom, and had been given concentrated doses of her anti-venom as well.

Dteinou started towards Kujhade, then shook her head. Poisoned or no, their combined effort was working, as Kujhade himself seemed to be just about to kill the last remaining bad blood. However, before he could do that, a voice rang out clear from the direction of the ship. Everyone's attention was immediately captured, and the eyes of all present rounded in utter shock.

* * *

"Sshh, be quiet little baby, please don't fuss," Nia spoke into the baby monitor. She then played a looped sound of Mili whining so that it was a convincing ploy. She only had to say it a few times before she heard the heavy footfall of a yautja male searching. The small compartment door was flung open, nearly torn from its hinges, and Nia felt herself hauled up by her hair.

"You? So this is where you went off to? I was hoping you were dead, but now I get to kill you myself," Setg'in said as he brought Nia closer to his masked face. He took a second to look around, and not seeing a suckling, he shook her a bit.

Nia was holding onto his arm with both hands trying to lift up so that she wasn't hanging all her weight by her hair. She tried in vain not to swing her legs, but she was losing that battle, and could feel her hair being painfully pulled right out of her scalp.

"Where is that abomination Kujhade no doubt calls his pup? You were talking to it, where…?!" Setg'in stopped short as the baby monitor dropped from Nia to the floor. He looked at its match in his own hand. Growling angrily, he crushed it into tiny pieces and threw it across the holding area.

"Where is it?" He asked, his voice dropping low. Nia's heart was racing. She could tell to save her own ass, but the only thing about that plan was that her ass would not be saved either way. Besides, she didn't owe Setg'in any explanations. He was a piece of shit by all accounts, so just on the basis of making this shit harder on him, Nia refused to answer.

"Where?!" He asked again, shaking her. He had yet to hit her, but now Nia could feel the blood running down her face from her scalp as her hair was pulled free. She cried out at the pain, but refused to give a straight answer.

"He in his skin, when he jumps out, you jump in!" She smarted off. Lijia had been right after all then. She would die here protecting children she did not even like, from a monster she hated. In one smooth motion, he flung her against the metal wall as if she were nothing. It knocked her senseless, but before she could struggle to her feet, Setg'in was on her again, this time pinning her on the floor with his knee in her chest, and much of his weight bearing down on her. This way he could put his blade to her throat.

"One more chance. Where. Is. The. Suckling?" He asked, the blade piercing the skin of her throat a little. It hurt like hell as the pain in her scalp throbbed down to her throat.

"Fuck you, bitch" Nia managed to wheeze out. He'd had enough. If she would not talk she could die. He raised his hand, about to deliver the death blow when he heard….something.

Ever so slowly Setg'in turned towards where he thought the sounds might be coming from. First he looked over to the small baby monitor Nia had, but it was broken on the floor. Seeing how he appeared to be listening to something she couldn't hear, Nia tried to draw his attention to herself.

"Let…me..up…" she managed, still gasping for air with his knee planted firmly in her chest. He was leaning more of his weight on her, and she was sure he would go ahead and break her sternum if she didn't get him off of her immediately. Nia reached up and grabbed a fistful of thick dreads and gave a hard tug and squeeze. It earned her a roar and a backhand smack, but he did get up and start to leave.

It was sort of uncanny. Setg'in moved with blinding speed, out of the bowels of the ship. He passed on the very unnecessary lift, and the rather grandiose staircase, and simply leaped up to the second level. Nia had just gathered herself enough to stumble out of her hiding place, just in time to see him take that twenty-foot vertical leap to the second level landing and then jet off into Lijia's direction. Still gasping for air, Nia took the stairs two-by-two woefully unable to catch up before he made it to Lijia and the babies.

All his senses were attuned to the location of a small pup. He'd heard it, just faintly, mewling and fussing. He thought he had already searched the upper level, but apparently he had not been thorough enough. Once he got to the upper floor landing he stopped briefly to assess the sound. He could hear Nia wheezing and shambling her way up the stairs, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. Quickly, he flipped through multiple spectrums of vision on his mask, and finally decided it wouldn't help. Like a bloodhound on a fresh trail, he turned his head this way and that, finally hearing another muffled whimper. He raced off just as Nia got to the top of the stairs. The sound was coming from above him. How stupid of him not to have found an upper level storage. It was the maintenance tunnel access for both the ventilation and water filtration systems, and the perfect hiding place for a small pup and a guardian. There was a very narrow walkway leading up to the access, which itself was no bigger than a nice sized crawl space. He climbed it, then tapped the metal sheeting until the sound wasn't hollow. He grinned to himself before ripping the paneling down with his claws and reaching to grab to first thing he came into contact with. It just so happened to be Lijia's ankle. He yanked her down forcefully, breaking the small walkway, both of them landing on the real second level landing.

Instantly Lijia was up with her long knife in one hand and no suckling in the other. Without any words, she lunged at him intent on aiming for his throat, but he danced just out of her reach. Just as he was about to get rid of Lijia, he felt Nia jump on his back. He felt the sting of what must have been a blade of her own, hit him about the shoulders and upper back area. Lijia pressed hard, taking very skilled strikes aimed at all his vital areas and arteries. She was even hitting some of her targets, but the cuts were shallow as he deftly moved out of her way. He slammed himself against the nearest wall in order to crush Nia. One, two, three times she'd been slammed with all his might against an unyielding wall, and despite her fury and adrenaline was forced to let him go. Nia fell to the floor, trying once again to catch her breath, and stop her head from splitting and spinning all at the same time. Freed from the nuisance on his back, Setg'in began to teach this unskilled healer a lesson for daring to attack him.

Lijia was no match. One armed or not, he was too skilled of a warrior for her to deal with one on one. His spear was a deadly blur as his parries knocked her on her ass repeatedly. Nia was about to jump him again, until she saw Lijia shake her head just slightly. Nia understood. Instead of launching another pointless attack, Nia went instead for the babies. The small walkway was broken, but she still began to climb the remains of it up to reach the children. Regardless of her earlier thoughts and actions, there was no way she was going to allow that monster to get his hands on them. These were babies for god sakes, innocent ones who didn't ask for this type of shit. Nia balanced herself on the banister of the busted stairway. It jutted up at an odd angle which didn't lend itself to stability and safety, but she had no time to think about it. She peeked over her shoulder and her stomach knotted. Lijia was being absolutely pounded. She had been growling and roaring before, but now she was only grunting in pain every time Setg'in landed a vicious blow. As quickly as possible Nia scuttled up and grabbed Marcus, who was peering over the edge of the missing metal panel. He was looking at the floor like a kitten who wanted to make a jump, but was deciding if he could make it, or survive it. At the last moment, Nia jumped to grab him down. The ill-balanced apparatus crumbled beneath her, as she cradled Marcus in her bread basket, falling painfully to the floor as she did so.

With a grunt of frustration, Setg'in delivered a horrific blow to Lijia's face, then threw her limp body down the corridor to the far wall. The sound was a sickening smack, as she impacted. Nia tried to run with the baby in her arms, but could only shield it as she felt the heat of Setg'in's body, and the force of his blows. Unlike Lijia, Nia could not take such a beating. With Marcus in her arms she had no chance to defend herself. So instead she curled over the small baby like the human shield she had become, and took her beating.

He could have taken his blades right through her, but then he ran the risk of killing his living bargaining chip. He needed it alive, and she was going to give it to him. With all his considerable force, he landed hammer fists to the back of her head and her back. She was kneeled all the way down, covering the baby completely, probably smothering it inadvertently. Her screams reverberated all along the upper floor, bouncing off the walls and ringing in his ears. It was deafening and full of anguish. Each blow brought her closer to death, the pain immeasurable. It should have been against the law for anything to be able to hit that hard. With blood running from her head and down her face, she chanced to look in the face of the child she was holding. Instead of hissing and growling at her, his little face was drawn in, mandibles closed tightly, eyes conveying horror and confusion. Nia's heart broke at the sight. Maybe this was penance. How could she have harmed such an innocent thing? Jasmine was right to have beaten her like she had. Suddenly Nia held no more contempt for Jasmine. There was no time for it anymore. She felt only respect, and a profound sense of having missed an opportunity to be more than she was before. Setg'in hit her again, and this time she felt her spine give way. Immediately she felt nothing below her waist, and her arms and hands shook violently, but she held Marcus for dear life. Another blow to the head, and this time her vision went black, and convulsions took over. Her upper body jerked uncontrollably, instinctively she gripped the bundle in her arms even tighter as her very consciousness pulled cruelly away from her.

She was dead. She had gone into these weird convulsions and then she had simply stopped. His only hand up to the elbow was bathed in a swirl of red and green blood. He looked around at his handiwork, not a twinge of regret anywhere near his mind or heart. It was simply what he had to do. They were in his way. Objects to be removed forcibly. He kicked over Nia's bloody, battered body, and had to literally pry the suckling from her arms. Marcus did not struggle as he looked at the stranger holding him. It surprised Setg'in to see him. He knew that Jasmine was its mother, yet it bore no sign of being human at all. No matter. Confidently he strode out of the ship, Marcus firmly in his grip. He surveyed the bodies littering the floor, and spotted Kujhade about to end the last bad blood. He couldn't let it happen. He was next if this one was killed.

"Let him go, or…it dies!" Setg'in said triumphantly. He'd gone looking for his proverbial Trump card and had found it in all its infantile glory. He stood right outside the ship, blood-soaked and holding a squirming Marcus in his only hand by the nape of his neck. His hand practically engulfed the small baby's throat, his gurgles and cries barely audible in Setg'in's crushing grip.

"Perhaps you are hard of hearing pale hunter. I said, let…him..go,"

* * *

 **A/N: Tell the truth, you guys live for these cliffhangers don't you? The last chapter is coming up next, followed by the epilogue. I'm going to try to make this as thrilling and as unpredictable as possible. Hope you guys don't hate me even more than you do after this chapter. Love you guys, and thanks so much for all your support, likes, reviews, and faves!**


	28. Vae Victis!

Jasmine backpedaled right into the landing gear of a parked ship. Sure she'd gotten this brute off of her man, but now he had his hideous sights set on her and there was nothing she could do about it. He'd knocked all her arrows out of the air, so the bow was no good. Jasmine took out her machetes and twirled them, crouched and circled. It was the universal yautja symbol for let's-get-this-shit-started, and she was in no position on her best day to challenge him, but there was no choice. He immediately responded by roaring, jumping at her then cloaking. Unable to see him even with her mask, she backed up instinctively but he landed right in front of her. She felt a heavy hand backslap the hell out of her, causing her to slam her head on the landing gear. Without any time to react or think, she was hauled up for the thousandth time by her throat. He chuckled as he snatched both blades out of her hands, then followed that up with a body shot from hell. Mike Tyson, Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and any other heavyweight you could think up all wrapped into one, had nothing on this guy.

She had on more armor than anybody on the ship, but that didn't seem to matter at all. He was pounding her ribs repeatedly, making her scream bloody murder, which unfortunately wasn't a hyperbole. She wheezed, unable now to take proper breaths. He must've gotten bored with the body shots, and so just started to slam her against the hull of a ship over and over. Frantically her mind raced. This was the end of her. She couldn't take much more of this, extra yautja blood in her veins or not. Jasmine reached for her smart disc in vain. She couldn't get to it being tossed and slammed like she was. Her head was spinning, pounding, and then she heard her armor give way. She had on shoulder guards which came down over her shoulder blades a bit. It cracked, and the metal began to dig its way into her right shoulder blade. This time she screamed in pure agony as it bit into her flesh, but he showed no signs of tiring. He paused with trying to make her one with the ship, and took the time to backhand her once more. Her mask came flying off and now there was no barrier between her face and his fists. Immediately she stopped weakly clawing at the hands at her throat and just covered her face. He promptly put a knee in her gut, causing her to double over and throw up a horrid mixture of blood and stomach acid.

"Aggghhh!"

She couldn't help but scream out again. It was weaker this time; wearier. Jasmine thought of her children again. She hoped Lijia was okay and still able to protect them. When she died, they would need a strong mother to protect them. They deserved better than what they got from her. Sure she loved them fiercely, but Jasmine realized with each passing moment that she could not live in their world. They spent their time hurdling towards one dangerous situation or another, and humans spent most of their time avoiding that very thing. There was never any ease or comfort in the life of a yautja hunter, only hunting and death. Kill or be killed was the ultimate law, and everything else was incidental. She would be killed. There was no doubt now. He had gone back to slamming her against the ship, and the world was starting to black in and out. Every time it blacked out, an image would come to her. First her children, their scent, their eyes, their laughter, their crying. Then her husband, his eyes, the deep rumble in his chest, the way he could read her without saying a word. Then it was Marcus, walking him to school, his smile, the fear in his eyes the last time she saw him. Her mother, Terrell, all the instances in her life that she tried to bury came rushing back to her in a tsunami of heartache, loathing, and regret. Your life really did flash before your eyes, huh?

Jasmine vaguely felt herself drop to the floor in a heap of blood and broken bones. As if in the grips of a nightmare she could not escape, she tried to move. It was like moving through a fog that somehow had mass and weight. She couldn't have gotten far. Everything was so sore to the point of numbness. She creeped her hand up, looked at her fingers flex, and then it all went black. Amazingly she could still hear, but she could not distinguish between dream and reality. All she wanted now was the bliss of unconsciousness to take her.

* * *

K'var's smart disc was the only thing that made that bad blood drop Jasmine. It grazed his thigh and returned to his hand, just before he leaped, extending his spear as he did so. The bad blood was ready for it. He turned with his own spear, and rebuffed K'var harshly as he came down.

"Brave pup, but you interrupted my fun. For that you will pay," the bad blood growled out. He was inwardly pleased to have someone else to beat which could withstand a little more. The ooman was fun, but too easy.

K'var growled at being called a pup. He rushed the larger yautja and attacked. He was unprepared for the amount of sheer strength he encountered. K'var had never faced this breed before, only heard stories about it. They were bigger and supposedly meaner, but then again so were so many other forms of prey they hunted. He was not deterred in the least, even though he was now seeing two of his adversary. His chest felt cool, and his limbs felt numb. It started with his extremities and was working its way up his arms and legs. This in turn made his reaction time seconds slower than it should be, and it was already costing him. The larger yautja pressed him relentlessly with overhand strikes which were driving K'var backwards and to a knee.

"Stupid!"

"Young,"

"Pup!"

The bad blood said after each blow. K'var was on both knees now, haven been driven by the ferocity of the attack, and his own failing health. The gashes running along his front had stopped bleeding, but the wounds were turning an unhealthy ashen color. That just couldn't be good, he thought to himself. The larger yautja loomed over him, ready to finish the job when K'var took a swing. It was slow and his fist was caught in the hand of his would be killer, and was bent back painfully in an attempt to break his wrist. K'var growled and took a swing with his other hand with the same result. He was now caught, on his knees and with both hands trapped like a stupid little young blood. K'var thought of a million different ways to get out of this grip, but his muscles no longer really obeyed.

From his unfortunate position he could see past the bad blood. It was strange until it became clear, but there was nothing he could do about it. He saw Jasmine's arm lifted and the gauntlet removed from it, seemingly by no one. Then in a brief crackle of electricity, he saw Setg'in come into view then blink back out of visibility. The reason for that would not become clear until a few minutes later. Whatever the reason, K'var knew it couldn't haven been good. He had to get himself together. He dug deep for the burst of energy which allowed him to drive up, head-butting the bad blood under the chin, and knocking him dizzy. The large yautja stumbled back dazed. K'var was about to tackle him, until he heard his sire's roar, and then a split second later, the bad blood was knocked off his feet. Kujhade had shot a net and it had knocked the bad blood to the floor, cutting him in the process. K'var struggled to his feet as Kujhade and Mar'cte rushed over to finish the job.

"See to my mate!" Kujhade ordered, as Mar'cte changed directions and found Jasmine.

Kujhade stood over him, straddling the writhing monster who dared attack his mate and himself. He still was on his last legs, but pushing through somehow. Kujhade donned a special set of gloves which allowed him to handle the net without cutting himself. Kujhade reached down and grabbed the bad blood by the net as you would grab someone by the collar. He brought his unmasked face near and roared directly at the bad blood mere centimeters from him. His enemy was silenced by it. If he was here before him, that meant H'chak was dead. Kujhade's blade slid from its housing and rested against the throat of his enemy. With a defiant grunt, he was about to concede defeat until Setg'in could be heard clear throughout the hangar.

"Let him go," Setg'in called. At first Kujhade tuned it out, intent on the task of killing the bad blood in his grasp, but he was brought to attention when the voice called again.

"Perhaps you are hard of hearing pale hunter. I said let him go," Setg'in repeated.

Kujhade snarled and looked towards the sound of the voice. A few things struck him all at once. First, Setg'in was standing just in front of Kujhade's clan ship. Second, he was holding Marcus in a death grip. Third, he was addressing Kujhade directly. Kujhade's green eyes sparkled with understanding. He was simultaneously connecting all the horrific dots which would lead to Setg'in having his pup, and thinking of all the equally horrific ways he was going to kill Setg'in. He would suffer for this outrage. The bad blood in his grasp craned his neck to see what all the commotion was.

"Put my pup down Setg'in, or I…"

"Or you'll what? Kill me? I will drop him with a snapped neck, very simple for me to do. I won't say it again. The yautja you are about to kill must be let go instead, or suffer the loss of yet another pup," he said calmly, holding a wiggling and whining Marcus in his hand. He even gave the baby a slight shake, causing him to cry which was choked off by the ever tightening grip around his throat.

Kujhade chanced a quick glance at Jasmine. At once he was horrified to find that Mar'cte seemed to be holding a dead body, and thankful that she could not see her pup quite literally in the hand of their enemy. Slowly and very regretfully Kujhade released the net with the bad blood inside. The large yautja scrambled his considerable bulk out of it with a few quick cuts of his own smart disc. Warily he looked at Kujhade, then slowly backed his way towards where Setg'in was standing. No one else moved a muscle. Even Dteinou who had skirted around behind him, had not made a move. In truth, no one was fast enough to get to him before he could kill Marcus, and they were waiting on Kujhade's decision. His pup, his call. Kujhade got to his feet, not making any sudden move which would provoke Setg'in. The reality was that Setg'in did not need provocation, and that thought made Kujhade even more careful. His mind was going a mile a minute, even as his body wanted to die. Now that he had paused in fighting, his heart was hammering at an irregular pace in his chest. One moment too fast, the next it was skipping beats. Still, Kujhade stood at his full height, doing the best he could to put on a show of strength. He could not appear weak at such a critical moment.

The berserker yautja had finally made it to where Setg'in was standing and sidled up to him. Now at a safe distance from Kujhade and his cohorts, he focused his attention on Setg'in and the suckling in his hand. Even he had to admit, the pup was still struggling long after it probably should have been choked to death. Setg'in briefly turned his mask to regard the large yautja standing next to him. Fine florescent green lines of blood crisscrossed over his entire body. Setg'in addressed Kujhade once more.

"The Shirxa, Myaz, she comes with us. We leave this filthy clanship once and for all. If you don't fight, you don't lose a pup. If any of you so much as grumble too loudly I will kill him," he said, giving Marcus another little warning shake.

Kujhade looked around until his eyes landed on the creature Setg'in was referring to. She looked at him with pleading eyes, knowing her fate was sealed with the child's life in the balance.

"Go," he commanded without a second of hesitation.

It was T'chnde who had her, and after he took one look at Kujhade's face, he shoved her towards Setg'in. When she turned to plead, T'chnde extended his blades in warning. Resigned, she slithered towards her captor. Quickly, the berserker collared her with a huge muscled forearm, pressing her hard against his body in such a way where her movement was restricted. She was however able to shoot Kujhade a death glare which he noticed but paid no mind to. The life of his son was too valuable for him to care about anyone else's. Kujhade's muscles twitched angrily, and spasmodically. The anger and rage at being pretty much defenseless in the situation, boiled up inside him barely contained, but he had to remain still. Setg'in could and probably would kill the pup, Kujhade didn't doubt it for a moment.

Deliberately, the two yautja backed away into a random ship in the hangar. All the while Setg'in was holding Marcus up like a shield, not minding the fact that the berserker next to him hadn't taken his eyes off of Setg'in or the pup. Kujhade had finally moved to position himself to stay within eyeshot of his pup. He didn't want anything impeding his progress to break Setg'in's neck if the opportunity presented itself. The ship's hatch opened on its own, lowering the ramp for entry. As soon as they were on the threshold, something happened which left the room stunned. The motion was a blur, and everything seemed to happen at once. Setg'in had no idea it would happen, and it took him a literal three to four seconds to really understand what had taken place. The berserker next to him suddenly took a swipe, cutting off Setg'in's other arm and catching it before Marcus could hit the floor. As if in slow motion, Setg'in looked at the spot where his arm used to be. He could still feel it, and the weight of the small pup in his missing hand. He blinked behind his mask, seeing his arm in the hand of the yautja he had just saved. The berserker gave the limb a shake, making the hand release the suckling, and catching Marcus once again. The little baby was shocked into silence, as he kept his hazel eyes glued to his father. Setg'in sunk to his knees, only grunting his disapproval at the current state of affairs.

"Catch!" The berserker called to Kujhade, then tossed Marcus towards his father. Kujhade ran to catch Marcus, who wailed once he was in his sire's arms. He covered his face with little chubby claws and cried into them miserably.

"H'chak's clan hunts only worthy prey. We do not kill pups of any kind," the berserker was saying as he tossed Myaz inside the ship, and grabbed Setg'in up to a standing position. The newly made stump was bleeding everywhere, but Setg'in was too shocked to even vocalize past his continued grunting. The berserker knocked Setg'in's mask to the floor, revealing the fact that his eyes had rolled to the back of his head and a thick line of drool hung from his mandibles.

"Know that H'chak is dead," Kujhade responded as he moved steadily towards the soon to be departing ship.

"And for that I will repay you, but as of now I will keep the promise H'chak made to this one. H'chak wanted to make a slave of him, and after this display, even that may be too good," he replied as he tossed Setg'in into the ship next to Myaz. He turned to face Kujhade, and as the hatch closed he gave the slightest nod, as if to say Kujhade had gained a measure of his respect.

When the doors finally closed, Kujhade moved quickly towards the ship. It was awkward holding Marcus while he worked, but no way was he going to put him down. The roars of his clan members behind him were full of fury, frustration, pain, and indignation that two of their enemies had escaped having not paid with their lives. Dteinou reached him first, instinctively reaching for Marcus, and getting a low growl which made her pull back. They all watched as the ship made its way out into open space, the engines finally firing to truly get away.

Almost in a casual way, Kujhade reached to program his gauntlet. A few seconds later, a spectacular explosion consumed the getaway ship. No one had seen him do it, but Kujhade had detached the explosive part of his gauntlet, and slipped it into an open exhaust as the ship taxied away. With some measure of satisfaction, Kujhade watched knowing that no one could have survived it. The clanship rocked a bit as the debris hit it with the force of the bomb which had torn the smaller vessel to pieces. On cue, Kujhade's body started to shut down. It was as if it were waiting on his task to be complete before it took permission to die. He fell to his knees hard, clutching Marcus in a tight but loving embrace. Breathing erratically, he fell backwards as the blurred images of his clan hovered above him.

* * *

 _ **One week later**_

It was Dteinou's idea, and it made sense in a weird sort of way. She knew the most about human culture, so Kujhade didn't argue with her. He set a course for the uninhabited planet they had chosen to bury Nia's sister on. Nia herself was in the cargo hold. When Lijia awakened, she told of her plan and how Nia sacrificed herself to try to prevent Marcus being captured. Without any words, Kujhade listened, watching the kneeling doctor as she told her tale. How she had fought, and how she had hidden Mili in a separate part of the venting system. They'd found him crying with no sound. He'd cried himself hoarse. She had since steered clear of Kujhade, fearing reprisal for her ultimate failure in keeping the pups out of harm's way. In truth he likely would have thought of something to do with her for it, but he was too preoccupied with more pressing matters.

Trying not to lean his weight on the walls as he moved about the ship, Kujhade made his way to the cargo hold. It was not Nia he was visiting. In his mind, her death was no more than a necessary price to pay for having hurt the pup in the first place, but it did remove all rancor from his mind where it concerned her. He reached the lowest level of his ship, and pressed a few buttons recessed into the smooth metal wall. With a hiss and a dramatic show of mist, a small rectangular door opened, and a clear container slid out slowly. When the mist cleared, Kujhade stared down into the face of his oldest pup, K'var. Kujhade closed his eyes, and lay a massive palm on the glass-like container. The memory of his offspring's passing would forever linger in his mind.

 _His body felt hot, too hot. Kujhade woke up in a panic, grasping for a pup which was no longer in his arms. He tried to rise to a sitting position, and was frustrated to find that he could not. At least, not without ripping the medicine from his arms. His vision was blurred and for a moment, in the relative darkness and quiet of the room he wondered if he was in the realm of the Black Hunter finally. The illness of his body told him differently however. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear vision that wouldn't be cleared. He looked around, momentarily disorientated. From the incessant beeping coming from the other metal cot, he discerned he was in the medical bay. As he sat on the side of his cot, he could see Jasmine once again locked in a pod with her vitals being closely monitored. It beeped rhythmically._

 _Beep… beep beep….beep…..beep beep_

 _Groggily he got to his feet and took the few unsteady paces to her. He had never felt so horrible in his life. He felt like several hard meat queens had feasted on his flesh day and night, but somehow he had survived it, much to his chagrin. Jasmine looked to be only sleeping. From what he could see, she was stable. He rested his hand on her closed pod, steadying himself as much as seeking some kind of solace from the gesture. With a weary sigh, he turned to look over his shoulder to see who else was in there with them._

 _Still unsteady on his feet, and hating the feeling of weakness that washed over him, he made it to the other cot. On it he found K'var with no visible medications and struggling to breathe. His eyes were closed, but his fists clenched at his sides. The wounds on his torso had turned an ugly shade of ashy grey. The wounds were weeping a putrid fluid which ran down his sides to the cot he was on. He was drooling and seeming to be unable to control it, or worse; unaware he was doing it at all. Kujhade was horrified and angered all at once. Where was Lijia?! She had failed once, was she going to simply allow his son to perish?! Kujhade had turned to find her, until K'var grabbed his hand. Surprisingly it wasn't a weak grip. Kujhade gripped his hand back and looked K'var in the eyes. They were golden with flecks of green, and they were clear._

" _Sire," K'var said. His voice was considerably weaker than his grip and his speech slurred a bit._

" _K'var. Why aren't you healed?" He asked, holding K'var's hand with one, and stroking the crest of his head with the other. The contact was foreign among the yautja, but Kujhade had learned it from Jasmine. She stroked his crest this way when he seemed upset, and he noticed it always worked. At first K'var stiffened, but then relaxed into his sire's touch._

" _I'm…dying. She cannot…heal….me," he said, struggling for breath after every other word. Kujhade didn't want to hear those words. He would find Lijia, and make her heal his son._

" _You cannot die," Kujhade said, his tone on the edge of authoritative. He finished the sentence in his mind. I just found you. I don't want to lose you, but he couldn't formulate the words. They were in his heart, unable to escape._

" _I…meet the black…hunter. Proud to… have… you…as…sire," K'var managed, wheezing and then going into a bad coughing jag. Spittle flew everywhere, and the drool never stopped. With each flex of his abs, the foul pus-like substance oozed out of the wounds._

 _The words he spoke filled Kujhade with immense pride. In their short time together, they had bonded. They had fought side by side, and it was more than many sire's get to do with their pups. He felt a little better about the inevitable outcome._

" _I am also proud," Kujhade said, stroking his oldest pup's brow constantly._

" _You saved my mate, and earned your place. Go to the black hunter, a proud hunter," he told his son. K'var coughed a few more times, and drew a long wearied breath after. It was his last. He closed his eyes, and his grip loosened on his sire's hand._

With one more affectionate rub over the coffin-like container that held his son's body, Kujhade pressed the buttons on the wall again. It receded back into its housing and locked. Kujhade would never again revisit it. When they made it back to Yaut Prime, he would bury the remains with little ceremony. By that time his grief will have waned, and the memory of his son would not be tainted by it. Gathering himself once more, Kujhade made his way to the ship's bridge.

* * *

 _ **Six months later**_ :

The whole ship was abuzz with excitement. The yautja onboard were reserved as usual, but it was obvious they were actually happy. Jasmine had gotten up at what she thought of as the wee hours of the morning. They were passing through a solar flare unharmed, but the view was beautiful. Out of the panoramic window with at least a 270° view, the light filtered in. It gave the impression of morning and daylight, and it gave Jasmine a deep down feeling of comfort. It had been a long time since she had seen sunlight.

By herself, she had prepared a meal fit for kings. They had recently hunted and for a while had a surplus of fresh meat, vegetables, and fruit. She had even managed to enlist Lijia to help her gather herbs and spices for seasoning. Jasmine was busy cooking, hoping that she could get the majority of it done before the children awoke. She had her back turned with her trusty iPod and earbuds in her ears, when she felt two large hands grab around her waist. She jumped and turned, but with a warm smile to greet her husband.

"We are almost set to land. Only a day or so away from our home planet," Kujhade said, leaning down to run his tusks through her wild hair.

"I know. I'm so nervous," she admitted, standing on her toes in order to nuzzle under his chin.

"Why?" He queried, although they'd had this discussion before.

"No one there is gonna like this, us," she said motioning between the both of them.

"No they will not, but as long as you prove strong, you will be respected. Respect and honor is all that matters. Only humans need to be liked," he said matter-of-factly. Normally that would have turned her mood sour, but not today. She was nervous but also excited to see where her strange and wonderful husband had hailed from. She wanted very much to learn more about him and his culture.

Jasmine turned back towards the meal to finish preparing it, when Mar'cte strolled in. He was followed by Lijia, who bowed her head demurely once she saw her clan leader. They had barely spoken since the fight, but Kujhade bore no ill will. She had fought bravely, and his pups were safe in any case. He gave her a slight nod, which seemed to brighten her right away.

As he and Mar'cte greeted each other, T'chnde and Dteinou joined the gathering. They were in turn followed by the female pup, and the surviving young bloods from the old tribe who had sworn fealty to Kujhade. All of whom were chattering excitedly among themselves and sitting for the meal.

Before she sat herself down, Jasmine went to wake her boys. When she made it to their room, the were already up and ready to eat. She quickly changed their diapers and washed them up, before heading down to eat and feed them. They allowed her to carry them down the stairs, but as soon as they got to the bottom, they squirmed their way out of her arms. With little arms outstretched for balance, Marcus and Mili toddled into the dining area. They were ten months old and had started walking. They were even trying to formulate words more clearly. They were tall, already standing to a little above Jasmine's knees. They looked more like a human of two or three years, than babies less than twelve months old. No doubt they would have the famous yautjan stature. They made their way over, climbing into Kujhade's lap for him to feed them, which he did with great relish.

"Strong pups, like I said before. Marcus even carries his first battle scars!" Mar'cte said excitedly, referring to the permanent bruising around the baby's throat.

Kujhade looked at it with pride. Yes, his pups were strong indeed.

"I have been thinking of what he should be called. Perhaps he has earned a name already," he said, almost to himself. The chatter melted into a hush. Naming was very important, and whatever name was chosen now, the pup would have to either live up to, or change to one more fitting which would be humiliating later. Kujhade seemed lost in deep thought as he watched Marcus try to cram food into his mouth. He was only making a mess. He grazed a clawed thumb over the bruise.

"For his bravery, I will name him Yeyinde. I believe that is fitting," he said, and after a few seconds, the room erupted in roars and hooting. With a smile Jasmine sat next to Kujhade, gathering Mili in her lap and letting him feed himself as best he could. They were already showing independence, and did not like help where they didn't feel they needed it.

There was only one more morning like that as they passed out of the solar flare. Yaut Prime loomed, and Jasmine couldn't stop the butterflies from fluttering in her belly. Kujhade had dressed in his finest loin cloth. It was long and bore the symbol of their clan. One that he and Mar'cte pored over for hours, and had marked each clan member's cloth with it using a dark ochre. It was the yautja symbol for Nain-Desintje-de, which loosely translated into absolute victory. As Kujhade explained to his newly formed clan, he believed in absolute victory. That it should be achieved without doubt, and without question, both within and without. To Jasmine, it meant to be the master of oneself, and one's surroundings. It made sense, and apparently all the clan members approved and wore the symbol proudly.

She dressed herself similarly, and even placed small loincloths on the twins; over their diapers of course. T'chnde had even gone out of his way to create the smallest armor anyone had ever seen. It was made of old broken armor, but they were adorable in the tiny shin guards and makeshift wrist gauntlets.

The ship entered the atmosphere, and soon initiated the docking and landing sequences. They were welcomed like conquering kings, and they all realized that most of the fanfare was for Dteinou, who still outranked everyone else in the clan. As they made their way off the ship and through the throngs of yautja, Jasmine found herself walking just a bit closer to Kujhade's side. They walked slowly, ushering the boys ahead of them, as they had refused once again to be carried. The sounds coming from the crowd were a mix of celebratory roars, and curious grunts and growls. Of course Kujhade and his nuclear family were the recipient of those, but you would not know it by his confident walk. As leader of the clan, he was in front of what had been for all intents and purposes, a procession. His head was held high, his shoulders back, and his steps strong and sure. Seeing him, Jasmine followed suit. She willed herself not to appear as if she did not belong in the strange company she kept.

Finally, they had made their way to a tall building. Unlike anything Jasmine had ever seen, it appeared to be made of one single sheet of metal, without any break or seam anywhere except where the enormous double doors stood. As the clan approached, the doors opened, swinging inward on non-existent hinges. The whole thing was a feat of engineering as far as Jasmine was concerned.

The large metal double doors opened upon a large hall. The walls were ornately carved and every so many yards stood a yautja guard, as still as any statue. It was oppressively hot outside, and inside provided little relief, as they marched down the very long hall. They reached another set of double doors, these made of some other material. Maybe what passed for wood here. They were ornately carved with pictures of a yautja killing something long and bony looking. The doors parted as Jasmine couldn't help but gasp at the sight that greeted her. In the middle of the room sat the largest throne ever, and on it an extremely large elderly female. The matriarch. It had to be.

Jasmine's heart hammered in her chest. All she could do was follow Kujhade's lead and hope for the best. He stepped forward towards the seated matriarch, getting close but still keeping a very respectable distance. He then kneeled with one fist on the floor. Behind Jasmine the rest of the clan did likewise. Hurriedly, Jasmine did the same, and the boys did too, but more in mockery and play than in any real understanding. The matriarch cast a judgmental eye over the group before rising to her feet. With measured steps, she took her time coming to a stop right before Kujhade's kneeling form.

"Rise pale hunter, with a human for a mate," she said, her deep voice gravelly yet somehow oddly still feminine. Kujhade did as bidden and stood firmly in place, while not quite giving any eye contact out of sheer respect.

"Matriarch," he said simply and then waited.

She stood nearly a full two heads over him, even taller than Dteinou. Her golden eyes examined him and his clan closely, before she raised a gnarled hand to his shoulder, then shook gently.

"Welcome home."

* * *

 **A/N: Well, this is the end. I kind of put the epilogue in with the last chapter instead of making yet another chapter add on. I hope you guys liked this ending. I'll be continuing this story although I haven't decided whether or not I will do a few one shots in between this and the next multi-chapter. Thanks to all for all the likes, faves, reviews, and follows. This story has even more reviews that Somewhat Damaged, and that is very humbling and rewarding also. Love you, and be on the lookout for my next story.**


End file.
